Lavender
by knirbenrots
Summary: Who is saving who? In this new case, the team is not sure who can be trusted. [never judge a book by its cover. The summary is lousy, I agree! ] G. Callen / OC
1. Chapter 1

I could not remember ever having been so tired.

Only this morning we arrived in Los Angeles, me being so happy to be finally able to land the plane I flew. After all, it had been ages since I last flew, and yesterday, hijacking a plane was the only option to get out everybody safely from the Columbian woods.

After the plane was being pulled in one of the hangars and the doors once got closed, a whole bunch of federal officers came in. Four of them took our 5 'passengers' away, the other three were there for the team and me. Of course, there was a medical crew as well. I was sure one of the Japanese needed immediate care, it was obvious even in Columbia. One of the reasons we just took this plane and not take all those people away by foot. How could we have known that on this rescue mission of the British 'journalist', we would also find four more hostages? Both the Japanese must have been there over a year, and the Norwegian geologist even longer. And there was the American photographer. Seriously, no way this was his real profession…

Anyway, I was glad to be in the US safely right now and the only thing I longed for – so must have been for my teammates – was a shower and a bed.

The last time I really slept was in the aircraft carrier, before we got in the helicopter, ready to be dropped over the region of Medellin. After that, only the so familiar catnaps, until we reached the encampment we knew our man would be.

Freeing him, and with him the four others, went easier than we thought. The team had so much experience on hostage-saviors and missions abroad. It was a real A-team of the dare devils of the SAS. This time we had to use a bit of imagination and the plane we saw on the airstrip seemed to be the quickest and safest way to leave the country.

"We would like you to come with us so we can drive you to one of our safe-houses", one of the officers said. "DEA, Simms", he introduced himself, showing his badge and a bunch of papers, "because we noticed this airplane you just brought in, is filled with drugs, together with a list of some addresses here in town. We would like you to talk us in about your mission, after you have rested for a while. The only thing we heard was that a team of Brits coming in with a plane, bringing in some hostages they freed from Colombia. Mentioning Colombia always makes authorities call in DEA, you see. Now, my colleagues will drive you to a safe house in town".

The guys of my team must have felt the same as I did, being tired and feeling dirty after hiking through the jungle for over 4 days.

"Hope this safe house has fridges filled with beer", Smith laughed. "And a tv for watching soccer, maybe?" Donegal hoped. Davis and Green were quieter, but I could see they both needed lots of sleep. Without any comments we just climbed in to the two dark blue suburbans that came driving in, having us driven away from the hangars to lord-knows what part of the city… which was, to my relief, near Santa Monica pier, a place I visited before, years ago. Oh, Los Angeles. The city I had always wanted to revisit, although I never thought it would be like this!

Both the officers stayed, parking one of the cars in front and the other one at the backside of the building.

XXXXXXXX

* * *

After it had been my turn in the shower, it appeared that our hosts did not have any fresh clothes for me. That's why I suggested to one of the officers, who introduced himself as officer Smith, that I wanted to get some at the nearby mall. He had no problems with that at all and did not plan to accompany me. Since I had no money at all, he grabbed for his wallet, but he remembered he left his jacket in the car and told me I could get it on my way out.

"Be back soon then. Shall I bring anything for you guys?" No one responded, so I left.

* * *

XXXXXXX

The moment I closed the back door hell broke loose. I simply was pushed away, not completely aware that it was because of an enormous explosion. I landed hard on the parking lot near the car parked there, getting hands and knees torn up from the cement.

From being deaf to hearing ringing in my head everywhere, I looked back and saw the whole building being completely destroyed, falling apart like a toy house.

And then the sudden reality. Nobody could have gotten out this house alive. The building I left was gone and so was everybody inside. My team was gone, my friends. And I knew I should have died in that place as well.

The only thing that was on my mind was getting away from this disaster. Wanting to be home, feel save, cry, be comforted … But there was nobody around to help me, the only person left was I and instead of more panic right now I reasoned I needed money and clothes and some place to rest. For a moment I considered taking the car in which we came, but perhaps whoever blew up the safe house would be looking for the car too.

I took the money from the jacket in the car and looked if there was anything else I could use. Nothing, but in a reflex I decided to take the papers the officer put in the glove box as well.

After that I walked away.


	2. Chapter 2

After over two hours of dull paperwork and at least four black coffees, Callen was quite happy to hear one of the idiot whistles from Eric. Action it was.

Once they all were in OPS, it was Nell explaining. "There has been a huge explosion and fire at Appian Way". "It's one of the safe houses both CIA and DEA use", Eric went on, "earlier this morning DEA had it booked for guests". He quickly showed the latest live reports at local television.

"Completely blown away", Sam noticed, "was it a coincidence, something like a gas leak?"

"No way; it couldn't have been", Kensi showed, "none of the other buildings seem to be damaged and the way this building simply exploded and collapsed, it must have been a serious and willing attempt to blow away this building alone. I saw the same things in Serbia".

"And there are no mentions of phone calls with the gas company, no reports on any foreseeing whatsoever, no mentions at 911 either" was the quick response of Nell, checking all kind of sources on the internet.

"Great… So why would we have to be informed", Deeks asked. "No dead Marines, are there?"

"Well, that is still the question", Callen stated. "I suggest that Kensi and you will check out on site, ask around if someone noticed anything strange, well, you know, routine things. Meanwhile Sam and I will visit our contact, Dean Simms at the East Temple Street DEA office, and see if he can tell us more about who were in there".

On their way down, Hetty called. "An advice from me, mister Callen? Be sure to always be very careful with this Simms. Remember, Gibbs never trusted the man, and honestly, I trust Gibbs' sixth sense, like I know you do too".

"Will keep that in mind, Hetty", Callen reacted, hurrying to follow Sam. He hoped he could convince Sam this time to take his car, the rather new Mercedes

XXXX

"No chance one could have escaped from this fury", were Deeks' thoughts, hopping over the cordons. Showing his badge, he and Kensi could walk on to what was left of the building.

"Hey Ed", he greeted his former LAPD-colleague. "Any clues?" The officer pointed at some guy in a typical and recognizable government suit, another federal agent. "He's the one you should address, his team was in here".

"Hi there. So sorry to hear about the loss of your team", Kensi turned to the officer. "Agents Blye and Deeks, NCIS", she said, showing her badge.

"Well… thanks. Two of our men died in here. Ehm. Hedrick is my name. Don't really know about who else were in here, but four other dead people were found", the agent told. "The one thing we noticed, is that one of our cars was not locked. Dunno if something is missing from it though. Forensics will check and of course, and as soon as we find out anything about the victims, I'm willing to inform you".

"Thanks, we appreciate that," she said, and handed over a card. While Hedrick put the card away, his phone went, which was a sign to stop talking. He just waved goodbye.

"So… back to the office it is," Deeks said. "Nothing else to do here, is there?".

XXXX

Those were nearly the same words Sam uttered. "Back to the paperwork we go, lucky us. This guy Simms made me mad, but there is nothing else to discuss now, is there".

Callen agreed. "I never had a case with Simms before, but remember Gibbs did. I never found out how it went, but in one way or another, Gibbs mentioned he thought Simms was threatening his own DEA-people and had some connections that were at least curious".

The discussion they had turned out to be very frustrating. The only thing Simms wanted was knowing what they knew, never revealing any facts of what had happened at the safe house, not even about the loss of his colleagues.

"Discussions with guys like that make me hungry", Callen continued. "Don't know if you brought some homemade sandwiches to the office. You know that I didn't, so I suggest we pop by Cora's Coffee, I'll buy you a tea and have a doughnut myself with a coffee.".

Sam smiled and decided to give in to his partner's witty way of getting him to accept to stop by for a short break before heading off to OSP. Not that he had a choice, since this time he wasn't driving.

At Cora's, Callen parked the Mercedes, took his jacket and joined Sam. The moment Sam closed the door, Callen was pushed towards Sam and they both stumbled to their knees behind the car.

A female shouted: "Get down and stay down, shotguns!" right before bullets hit the car.

Ready as ever, both Sam and Callen grabbed their guns and they carefully ducked up to try and shoot who-ever it was that shot at them. A car opposite the street speeded and got away.

It was Callen who got from behind the Mercedes, stepped on the road to shoot at the van, knowing it was too far away. The other thing he noticed was there was no numberplate on the rear end of the van.

Meanwhile, Sam turned to the female who warned them. She got up at the same pace as Sam did. "Thank you for saving my life", she said. Sam noticed the woman, about 30 years he guessed, in a neat dress, sunglasses on. Probably on her way to do some shopping and being thrown in some shooting instead. "Please, go inside, get some water. We will join you soon", he said.

"No plates. Now, who would know we would be here? Nobody could be here unless they followed us. How come you didn't notice?" Callen was frustrated. Not only they had been in danger, but several innocent civilians as well. Sam was astonished to see Callen's frustration. Perhaps the frustration was because it reminded his partner of the five bullets that nearly killed him last year, the drive by, the speeding van, the fear?

"Eric", Callen called, "can you get some streams, traffic cams or whatsoever from Ocean's Avenue, 1802". "On it", was the response of the OSP tech.

"G, we should go in and talk to the woman that warned us. She saw it coming, perhaps she knows more".

However, once they got in Cora's, the woman they looked for was not there anymore.

XXXX

Frankly, I was shocked at the shooting and the fact that somebody in this big city knew that I did not die during the explosion like I should have. It was just in time I noticed the guns coming out of a van. What probably surprised me most were the two men. I thought I saved them from being shot during a drive by, but then they both grabbed a gun and shot back at the van that drove away. Federal Agents. The big guy being careful with this everyday LA woman I was right now, and his angry partner with his bright blue eyes, who did not hesitate to step from behind cover to fire some shots and find out more about the van…

Instead of me protecting them, they maybe just saved my life.

Shaky as I was, I got in Cora's, went to the ladies room and splashed some water on my hands, took of my sunglasses and looked at my own red and tired eyes and put my wet hands against my temples. The best thing to do was leaving this place and think how I would get unnoticed as soon as possible.


	3. Chapter 3

**[of course, this is just a story I made up an I'm gratefully using the great characters from NCIS LA]**

* * *

"An ordinary Californian housewife flooring the both of us and protect us from being shot. Feels like we're some probies on a first mission! Does this all sound logical to you? Damned Sam, why? And how did she get away?"

"Perhaps she got scared? The only way to leave would have been through the kitchen and the alley behind it. And yeah, I already asked Eric if he could find any footage from the back alley. Let's check bullet holes in your car and get back to the office, there is no need to go and try to find a needle in a haystack".

XXXX

I hopped into a blue bus and had it drive me through town. Near LAX I hired a small van at Alamo that had enough room in the back for me to stay unnoticed in, or even sleep in. After that I got me some sandwiches, some bottles of water and chilled Starbucks' coffee. In the back of the van I changed the green dress for one of the set of clothes I just purchased in the mall: some black jeans and a dark, warm coat, some sneakers and a long leaved shirt. Also, I was happy to find a Halloween shop where I bought some colored contact lenses and a nice blonde wig, which might come in handy. The only thing I needed was a cell phone, some tie wraps and a duffel-bag, which I should buy soon. Unfortunately, there would be no money left for a gun or other weaponry.

Changing the clothes and counting the money that was left, I remembered the papers I took from Smith's car. And however I still was tired, I was suddenly curious about the papers I took from the car as well. Five locations were mentioned. The tom-tom in the car showed them: one at Washington Boulevard, two at Venice, two nearer to Santa Barbara. I was determined to find out if any of them would reveal a connection with the trip from Colombia to Los Angeles.

Find out, alone. The way I used to work until two years ago, when I was attached to a highly trained SAS-team.

XXXX

The moment Callen and Sam walked in the bullpen, Deeks welcomed them witty as ever: "You lucky ones! Girls in summer dresses jumping in your arms, what more can a man wish for! Somehow, it never happens to me, perhaps it is because I work with a girl as a partner. It's a guys' dream, isn't it, being run over by girls. But Sam, you're married! Should or should we not inform your wife?"

This time it was Hetty who saved them from more bantering from their colleagues. "Gentlemen, up in OPS, immediately! That goes also for you, Mr Deeks and Miss Blye. Director Vance will be on screen in two minutes". Up in OPS, Eric and Nell were waiting, both eager to show what they discovered on a traffic video camera. However, they had to wait. Once Vance had seen them all inside, they all had to listen to what he said.

"Late this morning, after investigating the explosion of a safe house, part of your team has been attacked during a drive by. This could mean that the whereabouts of your team, or perhaps only one or two agents, was breached. Callen and Sam, I want you off the streets. Until we know more, you will investigate only from inside OSP. That's it".

"But-"…

"No buts this time, agent Callen. This is what I order and I am sure Hetty will see to it that officer Deeks and agent Blye will solve this case". With the usual sign, the connection was cut off.

"Well. Now we all know where we are standing. Mr. Callen, Mr. Hanna, I trust that you will fully inform your team members so they can finish this case properly", Hetty stated before she left the team and went downstairs.

For a while it was quiet. It was Kensi who asked what happened and before Callen could explain, it was Eric who came with video footage.

"Here. You stopped your car in front of Cora's and there, nearly at the same time, this van stopped on the other side of the street".

They all watched what happened. The door of the van opening, a gun in sight, Callen who already got out of the car, then Sam from the passenger seat. And then, from out of nowhere and in a flash, a young woman, suntanned, short brown hair and wearing a green dress and sunglasses, came near the car and pushed them both down, right before the shooting started.

"Who knew you would be there", asked Deeks. "You were not driving the Challenger this time. Sam, did you notice a tail, or anything else?"

"Nope, nothing at all. You, G?" Callen shook his head. He was the driver this time and it was only the third time they used his car. Who could know it? He still felt a bit embarrassed about this whole situation. "We díd visit Simms earlier this day of course. In the Mercedes. Could he –"

Meanwhile, Eric showed another videostream, from a different angle, on the corner of Cora's.

"Wait. Eric, play it again please" Sam interupted. "I think I saw-... There. I noticed. Look at the woman. She notices the van, and look. It is as if she wants to draw a gun as well. The same way we do it. But dressed like this, no gun for sure. That is where she decides to floor us".

"Crap. Were they ever aiming at us Sam, or was she the target? Eric, Nell, is there any chance you can identify her by face recognition programs?"

"On it" Nell promptly answered. "Although we only have those two blurry pictures that hardly show any of her face, and those sunglasses covering it won't help…" she added.

"Try it anyway. Meanwhile, Eric, I want you to try and redetect her ways towards Cora's Coffee".

"If she were the victim to be, why would anybody want to kill her?"

"Could be the unfaithful husband. A life insurance policy. The jealous partner. But then, most Hollywood wives do not grab for a gun like Sam just pointed out", Deeks stated.

"Maybe they weren't trying to kill her but intending to kidnap her, until she started to shout and they saw you with guns" were Kensi's thoughts.

"Maybe she was after them". Deeks again. "Thinking out of the box, guys".

"Eric, do you have vision on how she left Cora's and where she went, like I asked?"

"Yep Sam. The only video I found are at a bus stop some yards from the alley. We only see her from behind, entering a blue bus. These busses just circle around town, I cannot find out where she left."

Another dead end it was.

"Oh Happy Day. Yeah, happy day…", Eric started to whistle the gospel song. The others looked somewhat surprised. "Look oh look. Yeah. The dress is lovely. Nobody else wearing it, easy to go now" he mumbled. "Owh yeah, lovely, lovely, girl. Click-clack-caught you"! And after hitting some buttons, he turned to the big screen: "Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to… Photosynth!"

Eight pictures came up, all of the woman, mixing in crowds near Santa Monica Place an later on Broadway Street. Also, near her, nearly at the same time, on Broadway, the van. No plates, no stickers, nothing recognizable.

"Kensi, Deeks, could you take her picture and ask around in the mall, in restaurants, shops and so on, if you can find out more".

Still frustrated, Callen went to see Hetty. She certainly would agree that Sam and he should go out on the street as well, once she heard that the woman was the target and not them, so no identities or traces to be tracked to NCIS. Much to his surprise, assistant director Granger had arrived at the OSP too and overheard his questioning.

"No way Callen, no way you will act against the orders of director Vance. You heard the man. No field work for you until this case is closed. I'm sure Miss Lange has enough paperwork for you to finish. No matter what the outcome of Eric's tracing was".

"And what if Kensi and Deeks cannot close this case, and we still do not know if it was us or that woman. You cannot expect us to stay in this office sitting and waiting, can you?" Callen reacted irritated.

"Oh, I can. And be sure that I will see to it you do your job, agent Callen, and you will lead your team from inside this office. Like WE ordered".

Without showing more of his anger, Callen turned to his desk, looked into some papers and then decided that he needed to steam of some of the frustrating surprises of this day. Down in the gym, he already found Sam, beating the punching bag. He put on some gloves and found one of the boxing columns to be his enemy. Half an hour later and after a refreshing shower, he did manage to finish some paperwork, while Sam joined Nell upstairs to go through all kinds of helpful computer programs, which did not really help them any further today. Kensi and Deeks returned empty-handed around five. It was time to call it a day, they decided.

"You could come over to my place for dinner. You know much Michelle loves to pamper you, and the kids love to play games with uncle Greg".

"No, thanks Sam. I'll go for a run on the beach and grab a pizza or something on my way back. Nice of you to ask, though."

Each of them went their own way, back home.

XXXX

Still a bit annoyed that he, as a teamleader, had to accept the orders of both director and assistant director, Callen drove home. On Washington Boulevard, he noticed the policecar behind him and the 'stop' sign that was shown. Knowing he had been driving too fast, he stopped the car and saw an officer coming towards him.

"Sir, could you come out of the car and take your driver's license and papers and come to our car?" Callen sighed. Another ticket. He hoped Hetty would not hear of this one. He handed the papers and followed the officer. The colleague in the car checked his papers and held them towards Callen once done. The moment he reached for his driver's license, he felt a needle prick in his shoulder. Turning around, mad as he was, he felt dizzy already and nearly immediate, he passed out.

* * *

**_Hope you like the story; it just popped up, and I know how it will end already ;-)_**


	4. Chapter 4

A slice of pizza was about the last thing I could afford, unless I could contact my bank overseas the next morning. Earlier this afternoon I had dozed off a bit on the beach and felt immediately less tired. The fresh sea air helped, as it mostly did. Still, I had to work hard to try and ban the awful memories of this day for now. I could not let them influence my actions.

I did not know what the relation between the five addresses, the plane and drugs and the shooting earlier today could be, but was determined to find out. However, I could not afford to be recognized. That is why I put on the blonde wig and put in brown lenses. The first address I wanted to check was on Washington Boulevard.

XXXX

Slowly, Callen opened his eyes. It took a while to focus and a bit longer to figure out what happened. He realized he was seated on a chair in what looked like an empty office room and that his hands were tied behind his back to the chair, and so where his feet. There were some voices from a room further away but he did not hear what they said, nor did he recognize them. He was confused. Could it be that Vance, and even Granger, had been right and his identity was known? He was worried about Sam well. Before he could think further, the voices came closer and he saw two persons entering the room. One of them was at least Sam's size, perhaps even larger, the other man seemed to be his boss. Definitely not good.

"Dónde están los papeles?" the smaller guy asked. "The papers. Where?"

"Papers? What papers?" Callen was dumbfounded. He still felt a bit dizzy and this question made him uncomfortable.

"Los papeles, se los llevó". A demand, no question anymore. And although he was an agent and trained on not giving away any secrets, he would not even be able to tell anything, simply because he did not know what they were talking about.

"No comprendo", he answered. Without any warning, the silent big guy punched him hard in the face. "You now understand the question. Where are the papers?"

Another 'don't know what you are talking about' caused a serious kick in his kidneys and Callen gasped, the sudden pain came unexpected. For a while he simply could not say or do anything.

XXXX

The three storey-building was dark, no wonder since there were signs that is was for Rent. It looked spooky, but it was not the only unoccupied building I had seen along Washington Boulevard. I parked the van a bit further and watched if there was anything going on in the neighborhood. Apart from a woman walking by with a dog, all seemed desolated. I waited a little longer and was about to leave the car when I saw somebody on the parking lot next to the building. Perhaps a security guy, but then, I did not see a uniform that said so. And he did have his gun ready for shooting. No security, more like somebody on a lookout.

I decided to find out, took some tie wraps in my pockets, a streetmap in my hands and walked towards him.

"Sir, could you help me? I'm looking for the closest motel, but can't figure out if it's up North or down South".

"You should leave this parking, ask somewhere else", he reacted.

I noticed he also wore a microphone, but not active; the connection mode wasn't green. However, he only had to push one button and although I did not see anybody else, there probably was one of his colleagues nearby.

"But I don't see anybody else", I continued, lurking. And once he came closer, I let the magic of Krav Maga do its job and I soon had him faced down on the street. I knew enough Kyusho-Jitsu and found a pressure point to have him loose consciousness. I then tied his hands and feet and used duct tape to silent him for the time being. I took his gun and mic, turned it on 'receiving only', and slinked around the building. There, I saw another guy and could overwhelm him as well.

At the back of the building, there was a police car parked, which surprised me. Did I just attack two undercover cops? But no, in the car, I saw two uniforms. Normally, every officer would wear them on duty and afterwards, they would not take their car home or anywhere else, so something was not right.

The back door of the building was not locked and I carefully entered the building, grateful that I had a gun and that there were windows in the corridors, so I could see something without a flashlight. Nothing on the groundfloor, but on the first floor I saw some faint lights near the staircases. Definitely a colleague of those two men outside, I noticed, once I had come closer. This time, I could sneak in from behind and with a hit on the head with the gun, it was easy to overpower him as well.

When I had him tied up too, I went up to the second floor. Once there, I heard voices in one of the rooms and without being noticed, I came closer to overhear them.

XXXX

"Quiero los papeles del piloto y los tiene. Ella tiene dado a usted".

Once more, Callen did not understand what they were talking about. On this, the guy nodded towards his large partner. Without being able to defend himself, the big guy came towards him and hit him again, once on the head, once in the abdomen.

He could not withhold a loud groan and felt his eyebrow bleeding as the skin tore apart.

"I don't know what you want. I don't know a pilot and I do not have any papers", he managed to say.

Then the guy showed him a picture. "You see this person. She give you paper?"

With blood running along his eye, he had to wink a few times before he had clearer sight. The picture showed a military team, four men and a woman, somewhere in a desert.

It took a while before Callen recognized the woman he saw earlier this day, and although his face never showed it, he was completely astonished. All he could do was deny. He knew of no papers. Then, the big guy took a knife.

"If you know nothing, then you must not remember us". With those words, the leader left the room, leaving the giant to do his thing.

Callen swallowed, knowing that he was alone without any backup, and had no way to fight back. Would this be it, would this be his last moment? He saw the knife coming, closed his eyes for what was next, and felt the blade slashing from the collarbone towards his neck, slowly and not that deep. It hurt like hell and he felt blood running down. He drew in his breath and waited for worse to come.

Next thing was a gunshot and the big guy cried out. Callen felt the guy's blood spatter on his face and saw that the knife was shot out of the hand, leaving a bloody hand with two fingers missing.

"Are you alright?" A blonde female came in sight, worried about him. She took the knife and cut his hands free. Callen felt quite wobbly, his mind in turmoil of all what had happened.

He watched the woman quickly cuffed hands and feet of the large guy, then turning to him again. When she did, he caught a glimpse of surprise on her face.

"How do you feel, well enough to walk and get out of here?"

"I guess so" was all he said.

XXXX

It was not until I looked in his eyes that I realized he was one of the agents that was involved in the shooting earlier today. Despite the fact he looked like crap right now, with blood running on his face and his chest, I recognized his blue eyes that had been so angry. Right now he only looked confused and hurt.

Still, he was able to walk and he took a gun that I handed him, one of the two I took, and he followed me out of the room. Outside, in the corridor, we passed the man that had come out before, a Spanish speaking man, now looking freaking mad but not able to hurt us. Downstairs, one of the watchmen.

"Your work?" he asked. I looked back and nodded. The moment I turned towards him, he pushed me towards the wall before he fired his gun and shot a bodyguard that suddenly had appeared.

"Crap. Did not see that coming", I reacted. "Thank you"...

Once outside, we hurried to my car. "Now, what's next". I asked. "Did you know who those guys were or what they wanted?"

He looked at me carefully, suddenly seemed to look right through me. "Hm. They wanted what me and my team wanted today as well. They were after you and something you seem to have. We'll have to talk about that. But not here, we should get away."

He took the phone I left in the car and gave it to me. "You should report that you heard shooting. Just call 911, make up a name and hang up. These guys were definitely not citizens of the United States and they will be sent back to where they came from".

So I did, and after I made the call, I threw away the phone so nobody could trace it.

"And now what? Shall I drive you home, or to a hospital?"

He looked at me with a smirk. "No hospitals, no doctors, I'll manage. You drive, I tell you where to go, right?"

In fact, I hate it when people tell me what to do, but in one way or another, I accepted it this time, maybe because I felt exhausted. I kept driving until we reached the Marina and he told me to stop behind a large boatshed.

XXXX

"Is this where you live," she asked, "on a boat"?

"No, I don't live here. And it is not a boat, but it is a safe place right now", Callen answered. "I need a shower and a bed and from what I see, you need that too." He entered a code and opened the door, waited for her to enter and closed the door behind them. He moved straight to the lockers and took out a first aid kit. Then he took off his shirt and went to the shower room. She heard some curses and saw him coming back.

"So, what do you know about first aid?"

His question perplexed her. Although she knew enough, the way he asked it, it nearly sounded like an order.

She looked at his wounds. The eyebrow would be an easy thing to take care of. "I think I can help, but it would be better to have it treated by somebody with a medical background. The knife made a nasty cut, I think stitching would be best".

"Will you fix it? I really don't want to see a doctor right now", he said.

"At your service, Sir. Anything else you need, Sir!? I'll manage with needles and more, Sir!"

Callen looked at her and saw angry tears welling up in her eyes. She stepped back, looking away, swallowed a few times and wiped her hand over her eyes. He noticed she was pulling herself quickly together.

He put his hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry", he murmured. "It has been a long day, I don't feel well but I never intended to be rude. Thank you for helping me".

"It's okay. My day was terrible and I'm tired too. So, tell me, mister unknown, where can I find hot water, a clean washcloth and towel?"

Callen smiled. "Mister unknown has a name. It's Callen".

"Just Callen, heh? Nice. I'm Rhys", she smiled back, and on that she turned to the direction he nodded to, to get what she needed, leaving Callen with a kind of sheepish smile behind.

While warm water was running in a small tub, Rhys put of the itchy blonde wig, her shoes and her jacket. With her fingers she quickly combed her pixie brown hair back in shape and splashed some water in her face, and noticed how tired she looked. Right now she should concentrate on taking care of Callen's wounds.

Once she got back in the first room, she saw him sitting on the couch, his eyes closed.

"Perhaps I work best if you sit on the table, the light is better in here. Is that alright with you?" she asked.

He slowly opened his eyes, raised and came her way. "Perhaps you should know that I hate needles". "That's your problem, not mine. First, I will wash away dirt and blood, and I found this cream that will numb your skin, that should do it," Rhys said.

Looking in his eyes, she saw that he really looked exhausted and she quickly started to work. She carefully cleaned his chest, felt uneasy when she noticed earlier scars, some of which must have nearly killed him, she thought. Then she gently massaged some of the cream on his skin.

Callen leaned back and tried hard not to overreact when he saw her taking a needle, heating it first to disinfect it, then the thread and then looked him in the eyes. "Ready"? He swallowed hard. "Not really, no, but give it a go", grabbing the table ends and scared for what was to come.

Perhaps it was because she worked quietly and quickly, because of the cream she used or because he was tired, he did not know, but before he knew, the sutures were done and she put on some gauze.

"Finished. You may breath again" she said, with a sparkle in her eyes. "Now, about what happened –"

"Not now", Callen interrupted, "I can't think clearly anymore, and you look like you need some sleep. I'll take the interrogation room up, you can sleep here, change the couch into a bed. Near the shower room you'll find lockers, there's one with 'Kensi' on it, you can take some fresh clothes out of it if you need".

When Rhys came back in a blue tank top, he already had left upstairs and she was happy to find a bed.

Upstairs, sleep came easily to Callen this time, his aching body needed it. He was sure he heard Rhys cry, just before he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

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**_It's the first fanfiction I'm writing, and I would like to hear if you like it. Reviews are welcome!_**


	5. Chapter 5

_**[I do hope you are curious about how this story goes on?]**_

* * *

Mostly, Callen only needed a few hours of sleep. He was surprised to see he had slept six hours non-stop. He still was a bit drowsy and felt a headache coming up. He noticed some bruises that hurt, however, the knife wound was hardly painful right now.

He tiptoed down the stairs to get a book from the bookshelf. Careful not to wake Rhys, he moved pass the sofabed.

He watched her sleeping, brown hair peeking everywhere, wearing a blue tank top, the duvet only partly covering her. Right now she looked as innocent as could be, yet, she saved his life twice and she had proven to be a good fighter. And yes, she looked good too.  
He remembered he heard her cry just before sleep caught him earlier that night, and was curious about why she had felt sad. Maybe he should have asked, maybe not. He never was good on sharing or showing emotions and tried to avoid difficult conversations as much as he could. It always took a while before Callen trusted people, being hurt too many times in his life.  
It felt strange, going through so many things on one day with a person, without knowing that person, yet he found out that he already trusted her and wanted to get to know her better. He wondered where she originated from, because he could hear an accent in her English that he could not identify. Something European, he guessed.

Once back in his temporary bedroom, he tried to concentrate on Portuguese grammar.

XXXX

Rhys woke up when she heard the soft mumbling. It came from the room upstairs. Would that mean they had company? She took a gun and sneaked up. The only person in there was Callen, the only company was a book. He was definitely surprised to see her coming in like that, armed.

"Whoa! No enemies in here!"

"So I notice. How the hell would I know? The only thing I learned yesterday was that even safe houses are not always safe, so why not try and protect myself?"

The memories of losing her complete team in less than a second hurt badly and she felt like she wanted to cry. Rhys sat down on the floor, pulled up her knees, clasped her hands around them.

"Wait", Callen was alert all at once. "What about a safe house. You were- where?"

His thoughts went back to the case they had started to work on yesterday: the safe house that had exploded. The picture of a military team they showed him. His eyes narrowed.

"It was supposed to be a safe house, yes. But somebody blew it up, killing my friends, my team. I had just stepped outside the building and survived. But whoever was responsible, must know I got away and tried to kill me later on, that's where you were. I want to find out who and why. And yes, I feel guilty and fucking sad and I need to contact my superiors".

On that, she got up and went downstairs. "I'm going for a shower, if it's alright with you."

She left Callen with a lot of questions.

XXXX

Sam arrived at HQ the usual time that morning. He had expected his partner would be there already, reading a newspaper as usual, but not this day. He poured himself a cup of coffee and made some fresh coffee for when the rest of the team would come in.  
Within twenty minutes, Deeks and Kensi both had arrived as well.

"Is Callen in already?", Kensi asked.

Before Sam could answer, the heard the clinging of a bell: Eric calling them upstairs.  
The three of them went up, meeting Eric, Nell ánd Hetty in ops.

"Shouldn't we wait for G? He should be here any moment", Sam suggested.

Instead of Eric or Nell coming with the usual opening, it was Hetty who started this time.

"There was a phone call this morning from the Highway Patrol. They found a Mercedes, belonging to Mitch Andrews, on the emergency lane of Washington Boulevard. Mitch Andrews being, as we all know, one of the aliases of Mr. Callen. We do not know where he is and are not able to reach him. Eric?"

"We do not have any video material that we can use right now. The only thing we have is an eyewitness who saw the Mercedes being ordered to stop by a team of Higway Patrol. The odd thing is, none of the officers reported anything along this part of the route", the tech said.

Deeks sighed. "Not good. So Vance _**was**_ right, yesterday, about Callen and Sam being compromised? Now, what's next?"

"Hetty?" Sam asked, "what is your opinion about what happened? Could it be Vance was right? I mean, yesterday, we thought that the woman was the target, not us. We need to find Callen, and I want to be in the team".

"Oh, Mr Hanna. You go out there and bring back Mr Callen in here, alive and well. Now go, all three of you. Stay safe, stay in contact".

They decided that Deeks and Kensi would check Callen's current apartment, and Sam was going to get more information from Highway Patrol.

On his way there, Nell called him. "Sam, I notice the security code of boatshed has been used last night. Perhaps-"  
"On my way Nell, thanks" Sam said. At the next turn, he left the freeway and made his way to the marina.

XXXX

A long shower had refreshed Rhys. She took some fresh underwear from the 'Kensi' locker, and put on her own jeans. Then, in the locker that had Callen's name on it, she found a great button down shirt in a fresh, turquoise blue color. Oversized, but it fit well with her jeans and sneakers.

When she got back in the main room, she smelled fresh coffee. "Shower's yours, Callen", she said, "do you think you'll manage with the sutures and so on? I can put on fresh bandages afterwards".

"Will see how it goes", he said. And as he turned towards her:" Hmm, I see you found some fresh clothes".

Rhys took a cup of coffee, took her duffel-bag and studied the papers she still had. One address checked. The only thing she found in there were five persons, probably all of them Colombian.  
The paperwork came from Colombia as well. What did they want to find in this building? Why were they in there?

Then she heard a soft sound at the door which alarmed her immediately. Rhys quickly turned off the lights.

XXXX

Sam noticed the small van that was parked behind the boatshed. Every now and then, fishermen used the parking, so this did not surprise him.

However, the fact that there were lights burning in the upper interrogation room, alerted him. He took his Sig, entered the code and opened the door as softly as he could. A soft voice told him to put the gun down, which made Sam more convinced to subdue whoever was in there, so he did not put the gun down.  
Before he knew, it was kicked off his hands and he was attacked by somebody who knew how to fight. He did have the benefit of being larger and stronger, but the other person was quicker and a smart fighter and surprised him.

"Rhys, what's going on?"

With that question, the light went on and Callen stood there, still wet from the shower, wearing only a jeans.

"Sam?" He was surprised to see his partner here.

"G! You look like crap. How come you are you here, with this-this fury?" Sam knew that the next day he would have some bruises that would have Deeks making sick jokes all day.

"Fury?" Rhys was angry. The only thing she had done was to defend herself. "You should have put your gun down when I asked!"

Callen felt he needed to step in.

"Sam, it's okay. It's a long story, I'll tell you later. Rhys, could you please help me to dress this wound once more?"

XXXX

Rhys already took the first-aid kit at the locker room. She still felt mad.

Callen posted himself against the wall and asked "are you always that hot-tempered"?

She looked up and said "I don't call it hot-tempered, no way. I'm used to defending myself and maybe I am a bit paranoid right now. Wouldn't you be?"

Callen flashed a smile at her. "You don't know me. Nobody more paranoid than me, I guess".

Rhys put on some fresh bandage on the sutures. "Shall I redo this patch as well?", and she touched his eyebrow. She noticed how the color of his eyes nearly was the same as the shirt she was wearing, and that she liked the sturdy look, short stubbles as if he had not shaved, however, carefully groomed.

Callen closed his eyes when she repatched his eyebrow. When she stopped, he looked at her and noted the color of her eyes.

"I thought your eyes were brown when we met. They are blue right now! Anything else you are going to change, or is this the real Rhys? We need to do a lot of talking today, and we can do that in here. It IS safe to stay here, but Sam and I need to go to and check in at our office right now".

"I am just like this: nothing more, nothing less", Rhys said. "If you want to know more, just ask. You should dress first, before you can leave."

Rhys went back to the main room, where Sam was waiting. The coffee was cold right now so she poured another one. "Do you want some too?" she asked Sam.

"No, thank you", he answered. He felt a bit uneasy, seeing this woman that had pushed him down yesterday, and that might have had him floored again today if Callen had not stopped them.  
She was quite attractive, he thought, but he wondered if she was aware of that. Her eyes were blue, a special kind of blue. He found it funny seeing here wearing one of Callen's favorite shirts, it suited her so well and he was amazed how different she looked by only wearing something different. Clothes seemed to change her personality, and with a grin, he thought it was just as with Callen. They both had the gift to show a different personality with the change of a coat.

Once Callen was dressed properly, he took a coffee as well.

Then Rhys said: "I have got the paper, the ones they demanded yesterday. In one way or another, they are connected to Colombia. Maybe you should have them, and you and your partner can find out more about it? I don't know what agency you work for, DEA?"

Sam looked at Callen with a warning face. "For now, I think you don't need to know".

"Right", she said. "Another thing: I need to make a phone call to somewhere out of the United States, but I haven't got a phone. Can I use yours?"

"Mine must be in my car", Callen said.

"Our phones are only usable in our country, so it's a no", Sam told Rhys.

"We'll bring a phone when we return", Callen promised. "It will be within an hour or so, okay?"

Then, they both left and Rhys stayed.

XXXX

Rhys took of her sneakers and decided to read a bit. There was a bookshelf, filled with books in all kind of languages, which she found funny. She took a Robert Crais novel; she liked his way of writing. However, she found it hard to concentrate on reading. It did not feel well, doing nothing, as if she were locked up.

She looked around, walked around a bit.  
This boathouse, or boatshed as Callen had called it, was decorated simply but cozy.  
Above the kitchen's countertop, there was a large frame in which postcards and pictures were put. One of the pictures had 'Callen and Renko' written on it. Looking closer, Rhys recognized the friend, the 'photographer' who they had taken back from Colombia to LA!  
He was wearing a DEA cap and was standing in front of building.

DEA. She suddenly remembered the officer who had met them in the hangars, Simms. Maybe he knew more what happened on Appian Way. Maybe she could make a secure phone call from his office?

Rhys found some paper and wrote down the address and 'Renko', and put that paper in her pocket. Then she decided to leave. To her surprise, the doors were not locked.

XXXX

In the Office of Special Projects, Nell warned Callen that the boatshed door had alarmed and on the outside camera, they saw her leaving…

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**[I would love a review, really!]**


	6. Chapter 6

**So grateful we are allowed to just write about our favourite characters, although they will never be really ours.  
I hope you still like this story! If you do,please let me know. Reviews are very welcome!**

* * *

"What?" Once they had left the boatshed in Sam's Dogde, Callen felt the curious look and the non-asked questions Sam left behind. "I hardly know where to start, Sam. Had a rough night and I would not be telling this if she had not shown up. I still do not know who they were or why they wanted her or these papers she gave me in the boatshed. They saw both of us at Cora's Coffee and must have traced the Mercedes, I think."

"G. Tell me, she – Rhys – shows up when you are in trouble. Is that a coincidence, or is it on purpose? Have you thought about that? You don't know the woman!"

"Seriously, Sam? It is hard to explain, but it is simply the way she is. I feel I can trust Rhys, gut feel. You're still angry because she beat you?" Callen was surprised by his partner's reaction.  
The rest of the drive back to HQ, both of them were quieter than usual.

XXXX

"Callen! Glad you're here!" Kensi welcomed the senior agent with a hug. He had just sneaked pass Hetty's desk, who was was arguing with assistant director Granger.

And of course, like Sam had expected, Deeks' remark: "The two of you have been fighting"?

Callen asked his three team members to join Nell and Eric, partly to avoid questions of Granger and Hetty, partly to find out more about the papers and if any arrests were made in the building at Washington Road, after Rhys's phone call. But first, he told them all what happened the night before, how he got caught and wounded.

While Sam and Kensi started studying the papers, Deeks made a call with LAPD about if any raids had been made. Callen checked with Nell if she had found out anything about Rhys, like she tried the day before. Meanwhile, Eric was looking for traffic actions around the building where Callen had been kept.

"Alright. Thank you" Deeks ended the call. "Callen? Three people got arrested yesterday. I thought you said there were supposed to be five?"

"Only three?!" Callen was concerned. He remembered how well Rhys had tied four of the men, and he had shot the other one. What had happened? "Deeks, can you and Kensi find out more about it? Maybe on location, maybe at the LAPD-office or Homeland Security?"

"Sure thing!", Deeks said. Since Kensi and Sam did not find anything specific, Kensi leftwith Deeks.  
That was when Nell warned Callen that the boatshed door had alarmed. On the outside camera of the boatshed, they saw Rhys leave the building.

"Nell, can you and Eric keep a track on where she's going? Keep us updated!" Callen ran downstairs. "Sam, let's go back to the boatshed now!"  
He was angry. What did she think she was doing - going out on her own. "Why not wait for us and work in a team", he muttered.  
"That is how it feels, partner, when someone you care about goes 'lone wolf'", Sam remarked. He knew the feeling...

XXXX

The car Rhys had driven was still at the parking behind the boatshed.  
"Eric, is there a blind spot for the camera? How did she leave?" They both heard some mumbling from the tech geek, while Sam opened the door of the boatshed. Then Eric reacted "It seems she used somebody else's car. I can see she's talking to a fisherman, but can't read lips. Some minutes later, there is a red pickup driving away. Numberplates are on your cellphones by… now".

"Smart girl", Callen uttered his thoughts. "Any ideas, any clues, Sam, about where she went?" Sam looked around. "Her bag is still in here. Why leave without?"

"She probably wants to get back in here", Callen said. Then he saw a notebook on the kitchen's worktop. "Do we have a pencil in here, Sam?" In one of the drawers they found one, and Callen used it to gently scratch it on the notebook. "Old school detective work", Callen explained, as he saw her notes popping up. He was quiet for some seconds. "Renko? What about Renko? And the address of DEA".

Sam looked up and pointed at the picture of his colleagues was enlisted. "Would she know Renko?"

"Eric, get me Hetty", he heard Callen say. And then "Hetty. What can you tell us about Renko's latest activities?" Renko usually joined another team when there was either a difficult mission, and sometimes he worked alone. "Wait. I'll put you on speaker". The voice they heard definitely was not Hetty's. It was Granger who explained that Renko had been on a mission abroad, in Colombia. He was supposed to find about a connection between drugs dealing and the export of weapons from the US. His cover, press photographer, had been blown and contacts had been lost some weeks ago. "But the good news is that this week, he arrived back in Los Angeles", he continued. "A unknown group managed to rescue him, together with a group of other hostages, from the Colombian jungle".

Callen's brain worked at high speed. "Colombia. It must have been her team that got Renko out. Thank you" and he disconnected the call.  
"With this DEA cap, she might want to find him at the DEA-office. DEA had Rhys and her team in the safe house as well. Let's go there, Sam!"

XXXX

Rhys drove the large red pickup that she borrowed from the fisherman through the crowded freeways of the city of Angels, carefully checking if she was being tailed. It took nearly three quarters of an hour, due to an accident on Santa Monica freeway, before she finally reached East Temple street.  
In the reception area of the DEA headquarters, Rhys asked for detective Renko. She felt disappointed when the receptionist told her that Renko had resigned two years ago.  
Then she asked for Simms. "One moment", the receptionist said, as she dialed a number, "who can I say"?

"Tell him Rhys Brinck would like to ask some questions. I have no appointment, however".

Some minutes later, Simms arrived and he invited her to his office. He seemed to be genuinely surprised to see her. "You survived!" he said. "I did", Rhys said. "Can you tell me if you know more about what happened on Appian Way?"

"The only thing we found out is that the building was deliberately blown up. We thought everybody died in there. So glad to see you in here!"

"How about the group of hostages, are they all okay?"  
"Yes, they are" Simms said. "Although one of the Japanese is still in hospital. Officers took the others to their country's embassies from where they were flown back home".

Rhys was glad to hear that. It meant that O'Donnell would be in Ireland by now, re-united with his family and later on with the London agency.  
"May I ask a favor now. Is there any chance I can make a secured telephone call from your office? I would like to inform my superiors about what happened".  
Simms nodded. "All calls made from our office should be untraceable. You can use the phone on my desk. Can I get you something to drink?"

"A coke will do", Rhys said. Then Simms left the room and she dialed the number she knew by heart.  
"Patt! It's Rhys. Listen. I'll talk, you just listen. I'm in LA, alone. Davis, Green, Donegal and Smith are gone… they died. Not in there, but here in LA. We saved O'Donnell; he should be back by now. I don't know when I'll return. I will try to contact Henny in Washington and ask if she can help me to find answers to some questions before I will be back. I found a safe place to stay with somebody I can trust. You can find out what happened by simply checking the news."  
Then she heard just one remark. "Henny switched jobs over a year ago. She's in LA too. I can contact her."  
Rhys felt so relieved that she felt she could cry. "Please do so. Tell her I can meet her where we parted last time we met, in, let's say, an hour from now" and then, softer, "thank you Patt. Bye."

She rubbed her eyes.  
"Your coke" Simms had entered his office again and handed her a glass. "Is there anything else I can do?" he asked.  
"No, I'll be alright" Rhys said. She quickly emptied her glass. "I should go now. Thank you for all your assistance." When she got up, she suddenly felt dizzy. Perhaps she drank too quickly?  
"You don't look too well, miss Brinck", Simms said. "I will call in a cab. A friend of mine can accompany you."

"My car is parked in front of the office. I'll manage", she said, and she took the keys. When she wanted to get up again, she nearly passed out.  
"This is alright", she heard Simms say. The moment she heard it, she thought he made a mistake, but next thing she realized, it was her own mistake. Something was definitely wrong…


	7. Chapter 7

Sam had speeded through the busy traffic; he was used to the LA freeways. The Challenger arrived at the DEA-office half an hour later. Once inside, Callen asked if Simms was in. The receptionist told him he had left the building, for a three day study leave. When Callen was going to ask if she had seen Rhys, he felt uncomfortable not knowing her full name. However, the girl did remember Rhys and told them she came by to see Simms. She even remembered the red pickup in which she had arrived.  
"She parked it right in front of the Starbucks across the street", pointing at the spot. The car wasn't there anymore.

Both men stepped back in the car. Callen called Eric. "Eric, can you trace the pickup on Kaleidoscope?"  
"Sure I can", was the response. "But first I can lead you by traffic cams. The car went up North".

"Strange", Sam said. "We thought she would head back to the boathouse. What is she doing?" It was only minutes later they heard Eric calling back in. "The car has been parked at Union Station. No signs of the driver."

XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Nearly an hour earlier, Simms had made two phonecalls. One to Juan Cortez, who he had picked up from LAPD that morning. Cortez would get a taxi at the staff entrance in ten minutes and bring one of his men with him to drive the pickup away. The other to Nicolas Reynolds at the Naval Weapons Station, telling him that things went better than expected.

Ten minutes before Sam and Callen had arrived, a heavily sedated Rhys was accompanied to the taxi that drove her away.

XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Damn. She can't just have disappeared, can she?" Callen really wasn't used to people that seemed to have the same ability as he had: to just submerge and blend into the crowd, without telling why or where.

Sam noticed Callen's worries. "You like her, don't you?" The only response he got was a frustrated sigh, definitely a sign his partner did not want to discuss issues like that.  
"Where to go to now?" Sam was wise enough to change the subject. The only thing Callen could think of was driving back to OPS. Maybe Kensi and Deeks had information they could work with.

However, back in the bullpen, Kensi and Deeks had not arrived yet. They only found Granger, who worked at Hetty's desk. Hetty wasn't there.  
It rarely happened that their operational manager left the building during a working day. Different from Hetty, Granger did not ask about ongoing cases or any updates.  
Both partners joined Nell, to take another look at the paperwork Rhys had handed them before they had left the boathouse. Nell had already tried to find any similarities in the addresses listed: owners, activities, distances, but she found nothing matching at all.

Soon after, they heard their younger team members coming in. At LAPD they had found out that two persons were bailed out this morning and three men had been transported to an airstrip to be sent back to where they came from.  
"Pictures have been sent to Eric and Nell," Deeks said. Upstairs, Nell posed the five pictures on the big screen. None of the team would have recognized these men, except for Callen. He was appalled by the fact that the giant and the Spanish speaking guy were somewhere in the city, obviously not charged of any crimes. He rubbed his face, felt how hard he had been hit and wondered how this could have happened.

They all got surprised by a soft speaking Hetty, who was standing right behind the team. "Good to have you all here. There is something I need. Eric, can you have this picture on screen?" she said, handing him her phone. On the screen, a picture of a smiling Hetty appeared. Behind her, hands around Hetty, a definitely happy and gorgeous looking Rhys…

"Earlier today, my brother in law called from the United Kingdom. He had had a phonecall from his daughter, my niece, Miss Brinck. This is the message" Hetty continued, and Nell pressed the speakers:

_"Patt! It's Rhys. Listen. I'll talk, you just listen. I'm in LA, alone. Davis, Green, Donegal and Smith are gone… they died. Not in there, but here in LA. We saved O'Donnell; he should be back by now. I don't know when I'll return. I will try to contact Henny in Washington and ask if she can help me to find answers to some questions before I will be back. I found a safe place to stay with somebody I can trust. You can find out what happened by simply checking the news."_

A male voice: _"Henny switched jobs over a year ago. She's in LA too. I can contact her."_  
Then, some silent seconds and Rhys' voice again: _"Please do so. Tell her I can meet her where we parted last time we met, in, let's say, an hour from now" and then, softer, "thank you Patt. Love you. Bye."_

Hetty was quiet for a while. She lifted her glasses and wiped her eyes.  
"I went to see her, at Santa Monica Pier. That's where we last met, four years ago. She wasn't there. I waited another hour, but she never showed up". They all were quiet, not used to seeing Hetty being as emotional as now. Then it was Kensi who hugged her dearly. "Oh Hetty…"

Sam said softly:"Hetty. The person she's talking about, the one she stayed with, it is-"

"She was with me". Callen was thunderstrucked. Rhys, being related to Hetty? And now missing, not showing up where she was supposed to be. Hetty knew about the case they worked on, but didn't know her niece was involved. And of course, when he met Rhys, he never – not éver – could have known how important she was to Hetty. Or 'Henny' as she had called her…  
Family. Callen felt a twinge of jealousy. He never experienced family life, or how it felt to simply love and being loved, looking completely happy and relaxed.  
Only Hetty herself noticed what her favorite agent went through. Her trained eyes saw the emotions flashing by on his face. There was jealously and a unknown softer look. He usually was good in hiding is feelings. Now he had to look away from Hetty, afraid to lose control.

For the rest of the team he seemed unaffected as he continued "We lost track of her. She visited Simms earlier this afternoon, then the car she drove was found at the parking at Union Station. We have not found Miss Brinck until now, although we have looked for her as well".

XXXX

Rhys hardly knew how she got where she was right now, but she did remember the sudden feeling of betrayal, the gut feel that something was completely wrong. It must have been something like GHB that had been in her system, she thought.  
She looked around and found herself in a narrow room with one high window, which was blocked with shutters on the outside, and two doors. She got up and tried both. The first was locked. The second one lead to a tiny bathroom with only a toilet and a small sink in it. In the room itself there was only a bare matrass. That, and a very small camera on the ceiling, too high to reach or to cover it. This meant that Simms would be able to continuously see what she was doing, which made her nervous. Rhys sank down on the floor, back to the wall, pulled her knees up and tried to stay out of reach of the camera. What did he want from her? With nothing else to do but think, time passed by slowly.

It seemed like hours later when she finally heard somebody walking to the door. She was disgusted to see the giant guy that had tortured Callen the night before, coming into the room. Behind him, two other men appeared.

XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

For a while, it was quiet. But then, they all got active, discussing, viewing and reviewing vids, pictures, running through several programs again…

"Mr Callen, a word with you please?" Hetty asked. Callen followed the petite operations manager as she walked to the weaponry. She wisely chose this place because she did not want to be disturbed by Granger or by any other members of the team.

"Tell me" she asked, looking concerned at the lead agent, "what happened, how and where did you meet Rhys last night?" She knew that with G. Callen involved, it would never be a usual story.

Callen looked at Hetty, and carefully chose his words.

"She not only escaped from death in the explosion in the morning. It happened again when somebody tried to shoot her. Another person must have seen her with Sam and me. What happened last night that somebody overwhelmed me and kept asking questions that I could not answer. The moment I knew for sure I was going to die in there, Rhys was there and got me out. I took her to the boatshed where she patched me up. It was a safe place to be and we both needed to rest. After Sam and I left, she was stubborn enough to leave the boathouse alone", he ended, irritated and hardly able to hide his worries.

Hetty smiled softly. "She's perfectly capable to handle herself in any kind of situation, Mr Callen. No more or less stubborn than you are. Now, there are an awful lot of somebodies in your summary. She must have had a lead on one of those. Find that lead, find her, will you?"

Before Callen could answer, Nell knocked on the door and on entering she rattled "Hetty. Callen. You must come up now, we have a lead".


	8. Chapter 8

_**I know, the real characters on NCIS LA do not belong to me. I tried to fit them in my story, however**_

* * *

Eric had managed to find footage from a security cam on the back entrance, used for staff only. Much to their surprise, they could see Rhys being lead in a cab. Unfortunately, the face of the man that accompanied her was never fully exposed to the camera. "The taxicab has no plates, seems not traceable. I tried to keep a track on it but lost it near Bixby Park in Long Beach".

"Long Beach, none of the addresses on her list were there" Sam said. "So why go there?"

"Hetty, you just said she would find a lead. Would she know anybody in Long Beach or even further away?" Callen asked. Actually, he had wanted to ask Hetty so much more about Rhys, but now the team had to focus on what to do next.

"Not that I know of Mr Callen. She visited the States only once before, four years ago. We were in Washington, New York and stayed in my beach house in Malibu. Never in Long Beach. From what I know she has entered our country only yesterday. I should call Patt and ask him more her team's mission."  
After having said that, Hetty left downstairs to make that call.

"Eric, Nell, can you find out more about those two men, Daniel Ruiz and Ramon Perez?" Callen asked. The fact they had seen Callen ánd Rhys, worried him. Okay, she had been disguised, but they might recognize her when they would see her again. Although Hetty had told him that Rhys could handle herself, it felt as if she was one of his team, and he was responsible as a teamleader.

"Perhaps we could ask Renko, if the case he worked on is related in some way or another" Kensi suggested. "Let's ask Hetty, if it's alright to have him here as well."

* * *

The right hand of the enormous guy was carefully bandaged. It seemed nearly impossible to Rhys that he was in here right now, because she had seen how bad she had wounded his hand. Behind him, she saw one of the other men of the night before. He looked terribly mad at her. She decided to ignore those two. It was the third man who talked.

"You are going to fly us to Colombia honey, that is why you are here."

In an impulse, Rhys smirked "no way!" which definitely offended them and she knew she should not underestimate these three men. "I mean, I'm not the best pilot. I'm not used to flying all kind of planes. You'ld better find somebody else" she tried.

It did not work. "La carga debe ser entregado.".

"You heard the man. We have materials you must deliver. We know you can fly, you did that yesterday. I think there are some colleagues of us in Colombia who want their plane back and like to talk to you."

That definitely was not what she expected and she quickly tried to figure out if and how there was a way out.

"What if I refuse" she wanted to know.

"We will find a way to make you", the short answer was.  
It made her shiver, scared of what was to come.

* * *

Renko arrived half an hour later, looking skinny and tired as a result of being kept prisoner in the bush. However, he was talkative as ever.

"I found out that weapons are exchanged for drugs. Weapons coming from either Pendleton or the Naval Weapons Station at Seal Beach, drugs being transported in from Colombia. However, I did not find out yet who's behind the arms deals in here".

"How about the Colombia connection, would you recognize any of the people?" Callen asked.

"Probably. Man, that British team must have scared them! It was as if the encampment was surrounded by a platoon, yet there were only five of them. Great performance, really. They improvised so well too, expecting only one hostage, finding 5, one of them wounded. The guts to take a plane and leave the country like that, taking the risks. Their team leader is a definite woow, would love to date her. You should see her, really… Well, reminds me I should thank them!"

"There is no **them** left Mike", Deeks interrupted. "Haven't you heard about it yet?"

Renko fell silent. "What do you mean, what happened?"

"The safe house they stayed in was blown up. Only one of the team managed to survive, but is missing right now. It is the woman" Sam answered.  
He had watched his partner's face during Renko's enthusiastic description of Rhys and it was clear that Callen did not like it at all. He knew Callen was never good in expressing emotions, and now he noticed a difference in his partner's behavior which he could not quite figure out. He seemed to be extra protective.

"You might want to share your thoughts on pictures we have in here", Kensi added. She was curious about this Rhys, seeing Renko being carried away by the woman. Eric showed a picture of the safe house, the short vid of the shooting and the person with Rhys when they entered the cab.

Renko kept focused. "Eric, that last image again please". He looked carefully again and was quiet for a while.  
"Kenz, do you remember the case in Mexico, human trafficking" he asked.  
It had been a case before Dom had joined their team, during the period Renko regularly worked with them. He and Kensi had been working undercover trying to find a group that kidnapped women in Mexico, for ransom or worse.

She looked closer, nodded and winced "Oh no. Cortez?"  
"My thoughts", Renko said quietly. "Eric, what is the latest information you have got on Juan Cortez"?

It seemed as if Eric only needed to push one button on his computer to see that Cortez was linked to both Ruiz and Perez. The three of them had been convicted for several crimes in Mexico and the US: drugs and arms deals, kidnapping, but in a mysterious way never were fully sentenced.

"Why would he show up in an alley like that and why on earth would Rhys join Cortez?" Deeks questioned.

"She did not join voluntarily. She wouldn't do so, would she, G?" Sam asked.

His partner had already turned and left the room to have a discussion with Hetty.

"Mr Callen. I know there are so many questions you have, and there are hardly any answers I can give you. You want to know about Rhys Brinck. Please sit down. Where shall I start?"

"She is your niece, "Callen said. "You never tell us about your private life. In which way are you related?"

Hetty stirred her tea and took a sip of it. "She is the daughter of my youngest sister, Anna. She divorced from her husband when Rhys, their only child, was only three. Anna and Rhys moved from London to Holland. Then, Anna died 16 years ago, leaving Rhys, who just turned 12, to live with her father in Wales. That's where he lived, but his job was in London".

Hetty was quiet for a while and then spoke softly, not really facing Callen, but as if she was talking to herself. "She's a perfect combination of her parent's characters. Independent, strong willed, intelligent. Yet, when she needed it most, there was hardly any comfort. When she was 21, Rhys studied in London, and had lots of friends. She traveled with her roommates to university day in, day out, with the metro. Piccadilly Line, july 2005, was hell. Deep below London, the train was blown up. She survived but got hurt. Four of her best friends died. I visited her some weeks later. Oh, it was as if she had pulled walls like the tower of London around her. I managed to tear them down, and gosh, she needed that, she needed to be cared of.  
Some weeks after I returned, she called me and told me she switched studies. A year later, she had joined her father, Patt, in MI6, now the Secret Intelligence Service. She used to work alone during long undercover missions. She exceeded in hostage exchanges. Patt first send a team of SAS with her when she had to get a VIP back from the Afghan War to the UK unseen. Some weeks later, she visited me, you saw the picture. Working with a team proved to be a good way of working."

Callen had been quiet all the time.

"You called Patt. Did he tell you anything new?" "Not really. The team flew to an aircraft carrier directly, from there with a helicopter to the Medellin area. It took them about four days to hike to the encampment. She must have been exhausted yesterday".

"Would she take any risks right now, not knowing who is chasing who? Hetty, we saw her taking a cab with a guy Kensi and Renko arrested years ago".

Hetty looked straight in the steel blue eyes of her agent in charge. "Never any uncalculated risks". This left Callen even more worried than before.

"You know, I'll contact Simms and ask what he discussed with miss Brinck", she said.

* * *

Rhys heard them murmur behind the closed door. It was as if she heard even more than three voices. She felt frightened to see five men coming in. It was the same guy who spoke first. "We might just have some fun in here before you leave. Some movies do sell well in this town. How about it, love?" He came closer. "Camera's already on!"

Rhys was afraid. She tried to swallow the flashes of panic away and decided they would not have the pleasure to see her fear. Instead, she managed to look hostile.

The giant with his wounded hand held her left shoulder and another guy took her right, then they both pushed her to the opposite wall. The smaller Spanish speaking man took a knife and in a quick flash, he tore the upper blue shirt open. "Now go for the jeans, Ruiz", the others urged.  
She would not let that happen. Maybe there was a way out. She felt her shoulders in a firm grip, pushed her back more to the wall and with one violent kick, Ruiz went down. Looking alarmed at the man, the wounded guy lost his grip and she chopped his bandaged hand, which made him shout out in pain. Rhys had hoped for an escape, instead, something hard hit her head and she went down. The blackness wasn't such a bad enemy this time.

* * *

_**Read this chapter? Please, let me know and leave a review. They mean a lot to me!**_


	9. Chapter 9

_**[The only way to 'own' Callen or any other persons involved is during writing and just dreaming. Just enjoy that...]**_

* * *

With Callen talking with Hetty, Renko could not resist to remark "Sam, did you notice that girl's blue eyes? They're gorgeous. Really, I was going to ask her out. Did you know it was her idea to take that plane? She flew it back!"

"Wait, she was the pilot as well? Woow…" Deeks said, admiring strong girls like this Rhys and like Kensi, although he never told her

Sam tempered their enthusiasm and said with a broad smile "My idea? I think G and Rhys could spend some time together".

"Hah, we all know Callen doesn't date girls with guns, so no chance!" Deeks laughed. "I'll put my bets on Renko in here!"

Then there was an alarming buzzing from Nell's computer. It still ran face recognition programs and obviously, something popped up.  
They were still smiling about the 'girls and guns' thing when they turned to the big screen. They were silent and appalled when a video showed up.

"No. Oh, no, no!" Kensi shouted, seeing what was going on and fearing that even nastier things might happen.  
Nell simply ran out of OPS-center.  
Renko and Deeks felt very uncomfortable watching; Eric turned his chair so he could not see anything.

The only thing Sam hoped was that Hetty would not see this. Behind him, he heard Callen entering ops and step next to him Sam had no idea how his partner would be effected by seeing Rhys like this.  
He saw Callen's shoulders slump and he looked defeated when he saw Rhys being knocked down.  
Sam felt he was the one to be the strongest right now.

"Eric, find out from where the vid was taped. Something with IP and numbers. You know what to do. Focus on that", Sam demanded.  
Then he turned to his partner, squeezed his shoulder and said "G. Are you alright?" The only reaction he saw was Callen closing his eyes for only some seconds, sighing and then hardening his face, as if emotional shut down.

"Guys", Eric said. "Easy thing. Camera and computer are both on East Ocean Boulevard, Long Beach, near Redondo Avenue. Address is in your mobiles".

All were quiet for a while, waiting for Callen to give orders.  
He straightened his shoulders and took a deep breath. "Are we all good?", he asked. "If so, Kensi and Renko, I want you both in here as a backup team. Deeks, Sam and I will go in. Meanwhile Eric, try and delete this video".

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

They took two cars to the Long Beach address. As ever, it was Sam who drove and Callen who automatically took the passenger seat.  
Deeks took the chevy and followed them.

Most of the drive was in silence, without the usual banter. Callen had taken a tootsie pop, his thoughts far away it seemed.  
"G, what do you think we'll find in there?" Sam asked. "Will she still be there? What if-"  
"Don't go there big fellow", said Callen with a warning glance. Sam was curious. Callen never shared his personal life, which sometimes made his colleagues having fun fantasizing about it.  
However, Sam sometimes found it hard to deal with. Of course, their job was not the easiest, but he himself knew how good it felt going home at the end of the day – not every day though – to a loving family. Why did his partner not allow anybody in? It had something to do with Callen's terrible youth, he decided.

"Eric, any movements around the house we should know of", Callen asked. It was Nell who answered.  
"We saw a car coming and another car leaving, but heat detection shows there still are people inside the building".  
"Deeks, are you listening too" Callen wanted to know.

"Sure. How about I gently and innocently knock on the front door and you two sneak into the back entry? For once, huh," their colleague asked.  
They agreed on that. From OPS, they could see Deeks walking self-assured to the house. Sam and Callen were out of sight, but they could hear them leaving the car and quickly running to the back entrance.  
At the moment Callen was signing his 1-2-3 (never the other way around, but Sam had gotten used to that) they heard Nell shout in their earwigs "No, back off, it's a trap!"  
At OPS, they could see the building explode...

* * *

Rhys really did not want to move, as her head seemed to burst. She felt some blood dripping from a slash beneath her hair. Keeping her eyes closed, she felt she was dragged out of the room and further until she was put in a car. Actually, she did not really care about what happened next. She focused on dark and starry nights on a warm beach and finally crashed out.

It seemed like hours later, but she did not know, when some shivers made her aware of the fact she was lying on a cold floor in another bare room. It took a while before she could think clearly.  
She was at the mercy of some criminals who wanted her to fly a plane filled with weapons to Colombia. Something was wrong in there. They knew she refused to do that. Where was the angle?  
Rhys did not have to wait a lot longer. Again the guy they called Cortez entered the room, carrying a iPad. With a grim smile he showed her the footage on the screen. What she saw was another exploding building. The thing that shocked her most was that she saw Callen and the big guy, Sam lying between smoky and burning pieces of wood, without moving.  
"They won't come and save you no more", he said. "And to make sure you do what we want, look at this too. We needed a guarantee and this is it". Next thing he showed was Henrietta Lange, accompanied by Dean Simms.

* * *

**[Oh guys, I really need some feedback... If you read, please leave a review! - RichtsjeS****]**


	10. Chapter 10

_**[Thanks for your reviews on the last few chapters. Hope you will like this one too!]**_

* * *

The heath detection cameras that Eric and Nell had used on the building had shown there were three people inside. However, these sources had not moved at all since the team had moved towards the house, which was suspicious.  
The moment when they watched Deeks step towards the house, Nell saw a small cable next to the path towards the door, which heated with each step Deeks took. That was the moment she shouted the warning.

Despite all, at Head Quarters they saw everything being destroyed immediately after. For a while, all images got scrambled. It was Kensi who took over Nell's phone and yelled, in panic, to get in touch with her teammates. There was nobody answering. Then, only two minutes – which looked like hours – the footage was back. To their relief they could see Deeks crawling away from the burning, blasted remains that were left. Still, there was no sign of life from Sam and Callen.  
Eric called Hetty, but she left her phone unanswered and when he went down, he did not see her either. Granger was working at Hetty's desk.

"Anything wrong?", he asked.  
"Yes. All went wrong Sir", Eric alarmed, "We need you now!"

When they both entered Ops again, Renko was just contacting the Long Beach police department to find out more about Callen and Sam. With a worried face, he was waiting for an answer and hung up after he heard more.  
"One of them hardly wounded, another is being treated by medics", he said. "Don't know how bad it is, though".

"Thank God, they are alive" Nell whispered.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Still a bit dizzy, Sam sat and watched the paramedics treating a nasty slash on Callen's head, where some brickwork had hit him. His partner was still unconscious, which worried Sam a little.  
He was glad to see Deeks alive and without any injuries, coming towards him.

"Hey, good to see you. You're okay?" Sam asked.  
"Sure. Some bruising and a bandage, and I probably won't run a marathon tomorrow, but, yeah, I'm better off than Callen in here. How bad is it?" he asked.

They had put Callen on a stretcher and were checking for other injuries. At the moment a paramedic touched Callen's shoulder and neck, he suddenly woke up and grabbed thewoman's hands.  
"Whoah… Calm down mister, it's okay"!

"G! Careful!" Sam said, surprised how odd his partner reacted, until he realized Callen had had bandages already, that morning.

"Let's have a look in there," the nurse said.  
Then, her cold fingers pulled off the bandages and inspected the sutures.  
Callen closed his eyes. He remembered how gentle Rhys' hands had touched his skin, despite the fact she had been so angry at first, the night before. Also, he remembered her blue eyes and the concentration on her face. He sighed.

"I'm fine", he said.  
"So I see", the nurse answered. "It will heal neatly. I will just redress this. Please, be aware for fevers or headaches the coming days."

"Told you, I'm fine. Sam, ehm." He hesistated. "Is there any news about victims. Is – erhm… was she in there?" |  
Callen was afraid for what he might hear.

Sam shook his head. "Rhys was not there. They found three men, one of them appeared to be wounded already, on one of his hands. No identification done yet".

Gratefully, Callen said "We should get back to work, don't you think guys?"

He carefully got up, stretched his hurting body and thanked the paramedic.

Deeks looked at Sam and asked: "Have you contacted HQ already?"

"No. Good thing to remind me" Sam said. His phone was still in his pocket and he pressed the number.

"Eric, it's Sam. We're fine, all three of us. We're coming your way now, see you" he said.  
It was not Eric who answered, but assistant Director Granger. "Good to hear agent Hanna. We can use your assistance in here. Hetty went out and she still has not returned".

The three men looked at each other and hurried to their cars.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Henrietta Lange had worked long enough in this business to know that not everybody could be trusted. Call it 'sixth sense' or self-defense. Or, in her case, the worries she had seen in Callen's eyes.  
She had contacted Dean Simms' secretary to ask how he could be reached. After a phone call, Simms had asked her to come and see him in the Long Beach convention center, where he attended a meeting.  
Before she left, Hetty took one of her famous small buttonhole microphones and put it on her brooche. After she made sure it worked properly, she left the building and drove off in her Jaguar to see Simms.

"Miss Lange, what can I do for you?" He had invited her in a small conference room very politely.  
"My niece, Rhys Brinck, came to see you earlier this morning. She is missing ever since, and NCIS wants to know what she discussed with you".  
She saw his eyes narrowing for only a second, as if he was calculating. "She is your niece?"

At this remark, Hetty decided to activate her microphone.  
"Well well, your niece… She came to ask if she could make an international call from our office. And she looked terribly afterwards, so we called a taxi for her."

Immediately after that, they heard an explosion somewhere not too far away. She was distracted for only a few seconds, and was unpleasantly surprised to see what Simms showed her.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Both Sam as Deeks drove as fast as possible back to the office. It still took nearly 45 minutes to get there. During the drive Callen had taken an Excedrin to suppress the headache he felt coming up.

Because there was nobody in the bullpen the three men hurried upstairs. Their colleagues were listening:

* * *

"_Well well, your niece… She came to ask if she could make an international call from our office. And she looked terribly afterwards, so we called a taxi for her._"  
In the background there was a distant blast.

Then, Hetty's voice: _"Rhys?! How… You know all about her?"  
_  
The male voice again: _"I don't. This was just sent to me. You can talk to her."  
_  
Hetty, clearing her throat:_ "Rhys, who do I see there with you, what do they want?"_

It was not Rhys's voice they heard, but another male. _"This cuty is going to Colombia with us. Party time in there."_

Then they heard Rhys, in another language: _"Henny, os ydw i'n hedfan, gallaf ddod o hyd i ffordd i beidio â gyrraedd yno"._

They all heard a slap and her withheld moan.

_"You now speak English"._  
Quiet seconds, then Hetty again: _"I know, Rhys. Efallai nad ydych yn teithio gyda awyren."_

In the background, there were lots of noises, sirens of police, firefighters and ambulances.  
Rhys again, soft and with an unstable voice: _"Henny, I'm so sorry. The explosion, I.. saw Sam. And Callen. I'm so sorry."_

The male voice:_ "Enough now"_.  
Hetty:_ "No, wait…"_  
And finally, Simms who said:_ "They won't hear us anymore"_.

* * *

In a small voice, Nell said: "She says she will crash the plane if she's flying it. Hetty thinks they know. She doubts they will force Rhys to fly it".

Feeling the whole team looking at her, she blushed and explained: "It's Welsh. My grandma came from Wales, she taught me a little".

"Damn. Where can we start now?" Renko sounded frustrated. "She must have seen the same video we have seen, but from a different angle. They showed her footage of Sam and Callen."

It was Granger who decided what to do.  
"Beale. You and Miss Jones will dig up all you can on phone records of Dean Simms. The rest of you: find a place to rest or sleep until we know more. I need all of you fresh for new action to come".  
Despite their protests, they all know he was right. Sam went home, so were Kensi and Deeks. Callen and Renko would have to travel further, so they simply took the two couches.

* * *

_**[no cliffhanger. Night time it is ;-) Please, do review!]**_


	11. Chapter 11

Renko quickly fell asleep.

For Callen, it didn't work. He had slept on this couch so many times before, but his mind was too restless right now.  
He could not remember any days without Hetty at the office. She was the one to make decisions about which cases to handle, the one to back his own decisions, the one to debrief with after cases. Above all, she had the gift to feel one needed support, and hell, she supported this division. And now, the team wasn't too sure where she could be right now and if she was in danger. Of course, she was tough. But with her niece involved, it was clear that she was vulnerable as well right now.

Letting his thoughts run, he tried to be completely honest to himself. He was worried about Rhys. He could hardly remember having feelings like this for a woman. She was brave, perhaps nearly fearless and she seemed unaware of her good looks.  
He admitted that he had avoided relationships. Sure, there were nights out with friends, which were of course his team mates. Sure, he had dates, every now and then.  
However, he had seen too many broken relationships during his youth, but also as a grown up. And with his job, he saw deceit, there was murder, there were ruined lifes. Things he wanted to ban from his own life, even if it excluded some of the fun. His feelings were hurt too many times, he was not going to let that happen again.  
He should handle this case professionally. Just another victim, just another case.  
Still…  
He sighed. He knew it would be another sleepless night.

He decided to rise. He took a fresh shower down at the gym, put on his shoes and made some fresh coffee. Then he joined Eric and Nell in ops. He saw that Nell was very tired.

"Hey. Any news?" he asked them.

"Nearly there", Eric answered. It was obvious he had taken enough caffeine. "Granger gave clearance for hacking into the DEA phone records as well, before he left. There's hardly any on Simms' cell phone and this will take a while, perhaps. Firewalls…"

"Did Granger leave?" Hmm. He must have had a catnap after all, not noticing that.  
"Nell, why don't you go home. I'll be here with Eric", he said. "But before you leave, could we please listen to the tape once more. Try to translate as good as you can".

They listened to the tape once more.  
"They will not let you fly, she says", Nell translated.

"Thank you", Callen said. "Now, go and catch some sleep Nell. At home, or have the couch downstairs."

Nell decided to go home, and Callen stepped down with her to get a cup of coffee, which he took upstairs again. Against the rules, but rules were there to be broken at 4.15 AM, he thought.

Sipping his coffee, he played the tape once again.  
There was an explosion on the background. He remembered Simms' secretary saying Simms was at a study leave, so it should be near a conference hall. He put a map of the city and its surroundings on screen, then afterwards he opened a file with all reported accidents, incidents and more, that took place during the last 5 hours. There was only one explosion reported near a convention center. It was the explosion in Long Beach, the one he was involved in himself.

"Eric, any chance you can find Hetty's car somewhere in Long Beach? And is there a way to find out if Simms owns or uses any property in there?"

Eric turned his chair. It was as if he had forgotten that Callen was in there as well. "Ehrm. Sure. Can do both. System's still running. Why?"

"Relistened the tape", was all he explained, "and perhaps we'll find Hetty somewhere in there. Focus on that!"  
Then, he leaned back, put his feet up a desk and listened again to the tape.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

She felt cold and alone.  
Yes, they had her talk to an iPad, showing Henny on screen.  
But Rhys did not know what Henny knew.  
Rhys felt terrible that two more men died today, because of her. She should have stayed in that stupid boathouse where Callen had taken her, and this would never have happened. She should have waited until Callen would have come back to her. She wanted to look into his blue eyes again, and she wanted to see those eyes smile. Now, that would not happen anymore, because she had decided to leave.

She didn't know where she was. The only thing she knew that these bastards that guarded her, threatened to kill Henny if Rhys did not cooperate.  
If only she could communicate to … well, Rhys did not know who to turn to if ever there was an opportunity.

Years ago, Henny had taught her there was always a way out. This time, Rhys could not find it. She had never felt so alone and she started to cry. She cried for all the people she had lost, for all the people she missed. She cried because she was angry, and because she was afraid.  
She sat down in a corner, knees drawn up, and still, she was so cold.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXxx

Callen closed his eyes and thought back of everything he heard earlier. Rhys who flew a plane, filled with drugs, to Los Angeles. Renko's case: finding out who imported weapons into Colombia. How difficult would it be to ship large crates with weapons in a plane to Colombia? It would be so suspicious…

Suddenly he understood Hetty's words. They wouldn't fly. They would not let Rhys fly, of course not.  
Shipping crates as large like that would go with large containerships. Containerships that were leaving from Long Beach, the largest container terminal in California.

"Bingo!" a shout out from Eric disturbed his thoughts. "Inside the inside information!"

Callen saw him desperately hitting all kind of buttons on his computer, numbers coming on screen in large green rows. It all looked like abracadabra to Callen, but he noticed how enthusiastic Eric had gotten. He had opened another screen with even more numbers scrolling down.

Eric looked very concentrated, turned towards a third screen and typed some commando's in there as well.  
Callen recognized the Kaleidoscope-system, which started searching again in an area Eric had narrowed down to the seaside in Long Beach.  
Then, there were bleeps from the second computer and Eric swiveled his chair towards the other screens again.

"Callen, I have got two outgoing calls that are very interesting. First one going to Juan Cortez. Second suspicious one, only some minutes after, went to Nicolas Reynolds at the Naval Weapons Station, Seal Beach, which happens to be near Long Beach".

"Can you find Cortez?"

"Yeah, I can use his phone only and track him down. If you can call him, see if he answers. Keep talking as long as you can, and I will locate the phone and its owner!"

Callen stared at Eric. "Come on. It's in the middle of the night. Nobody answers a phone right now, unless you are a cop or a nurse. You'ld only scare a person and who knows what panic might cause".

"Right. Didn't realize clock was working against us…" Eric said.  
This time, he was saved by a bell: Kaleidoscope had a hit on Hetty's Jaguar. It was parked near an apartment complex near the convention center.

On an ordinary day, Callen would simply allocate tasks between the two couples in his team. Right now, he was alone, and Eric would have to call in the others. He had to consider how to handle all the facts and tasks.

"Eric, you call in Sam, Deeks and Kensi, have them in here as soon as possible. Oh, call in Granger too. I'll wake Renko, he'll be briefing the others with you. Try Cortez's phone anyway in about half an hour, have Renko talking to him and send me all the information you have at that moment."

Callen got down, took another cup of coffee and woke Renko.  
"Mike. Listen, I think we found the location where Hetty may be kept. Eric is calling the others, they will be in soon".

"Uhhuh". Renko was still sleepy, but alert enough, so Callen continued: "You and Sam can find Hetty. I want Deeks and Kensi to find a guy Reynolds. Eric knows all details".  
Callen took a jacket and his bag.

"And you, Callen, where are you going?"

"I'll be chasing Cortez" was the answer.

XXX

He took his Mercedes from the parking and drove east. It was quiet on the road at this early morning, so, while he drove he studied his the COMAND navigation system to find all piers in from where containers were shipped through Panama and further, to Colombia.  
There were six different warehouses near the docks that would fit.  
He hoped Eric would call soon, to give an exact location.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Rhys had dozed off. She woke up when she heard footsteps coming towards the cold place they had put her in.  
"Nearly time to go, sweety", a mean looking Ruiz said. "Maybe you need a bathroom and shower first? We're at your service, so, how about that?"  
He and one of the Spanish speaking men laughed and they pulled her up, dragging her by the shirt.

She tried to look as tough as possible, but deep down she felt cold panic raging her body.  
"Before a shower, you should undress. Need a hand?"  
Before she could answer, he tore down the turquoise shirt she still was wearing. He came closer and asked "Do you know what we are going to do once we're out of the country? We'll have even more fun… Showering is just a starter", he said with an evil grin. Then, he grabbed her hair and forced her to walk next to him. It hurt, and whilst it hurt, Rhys felt that anger won over fear.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Callen was driving on Seaside Freeway already when Eric called him.

"We did the best we could. Renko called and I could narrow down the phone to a part of the docks I just sent to your system. Two warehouses to check Callen, can you do that?"

"Have to", he said.  
"No, you will not", Callen heard Granger say. "You're on your own in there, agent Callen, until back up arrives. Your team has done great until now. They're on their way for assistance. Wait until they arrive before you go in".

Callen shut off the conversation. He parked his car, took his Sig and carefully walked to the first warehouse.

* * *

**_[liked to write this chapter. Hope you liked to read it as well. Your comments are, as ever, very welcome!]_**


	12. Chapter 12

_**[Did you like it, the previous chapter? It gets worse... And I know, no one of the characters of NCIS LA are ours, but I'm very grateful to play around with them...]**_

* * *

It was an odd situation for the team members who came in, one by one.

They were so used to having Hetty around, telling them what to do and encouraging them to think why they would choose for an answer to a question.

If she wasn't there, Granger would be. And if he wasn't there, it would be Callen who would think out a plan, explain it and delegated tasks.  
Now, none of them were around, although Eric had called Granger back in Ops, but he had not arrived yet.  
This time, Renko and Eric had shared all the details they had, and although it seemed just a little information, it should be enough to solve at least a part of the smuggling case.

For Eric, it had been no problem at all to locate the apartment complex where Hetty's car had been parked. Callen had already told Renko that he -Renko - should go in there together with Sam.  
Deeks and Kensi were the ones who should bring Nicolas Reynolds in for interrogation.

XXXXXXXX

Sam drove the Challenger east on the 405. He looked at the passenger seat, where Renko was putting his feet up on the dashboard.

"You don't", Sam warned. "One of the rules in this car, remember?"  
They had worked together on only a few cases, once when Callen worked on an undercover job in Europe, and sometimes during the months that Callen had been hospitalized and recovering. Although they could get along fine with each other, they would never be real partners.  
It was still quiet on the San Diego Freeway, so they could move faster than usual.

"Eric, anything new about the apartments we should know of?" Sam asked.  
The answer came quickly in their earwigs.  
"Nope. Renko knows all there is to know."

"True," Mike said with a smile. "I know all there is to know! In this case, the apartments are rented to some guests who attend a congress in Long Beach. Some others are residential. We'll have to wait and see. Oh, and Eric, did you send a picture of Hetty to our phones yet?"  
"Yep, did so", the tech answered, still alert.

It took another 5 minutes after the exit at Rosmoor to stop the car in front of the apartment complex. Both men got out and headed to the reception area. They showed their badges and then Renko showed the picture of Hetty.

"Have you seen this woman? Her name is Henrietta Lange".  
The answer came as a surprise.  
"Sure, she is staying in suite 39, third floor, third apartment on the right. Who can I say is here to visit her?"  
The men looked at each other.  
"Can we surprise her?" Sam asked.

"No problem, Sir", the receptionist told him.

Once in front of the door of 3.9, they both drew their gun. Then, Sam knocked on the door. Within seconds, it opened.

"Mr Hanna! What a surprise to see you in here! Please come in!"  
Sam had never expected to see a quite relaxed Hetty opening the door for them.  
"Hetty?! Why are you here, why didn't you check in or call? Do you know how worried we all were?" He put his gun away, and so did Renko.

"Now, calm down. I did stay in contact with you, didn't I? You must have heard everything I did, said or was told!"

"Well…" Renko continued, "there was this conversation we heard. You and a man, and we heard Rhys. But afterwards? Nothing!"

They watched as Hetty put off the brooch she was wearing and checked it carefully.  
"Oh bummer," she mumbled. Then she looked up at her agents innocently. "Empty battery. Sorry".

"Hetty, how did you end up in this apartment?" Sam wanted to know.

"Oh well. I went to see Dean Simms yesterday evening. We talked a little, he was surprised to hear Rhys is my niece. There was an incoming message and there were only some moments I could talk to Rhys… You must have heard that at Ops. She looked desperate Mr Hanna, and I felt terrible.  
Mr Simms felt sorry for me, we talked a bit more, we ate something and drank something, and to be honest, it felt as if I drank too much. At first, I wanted to book a taxi back home, but he offered me to stay in this room. So, here we are. I got up early to drive back at our office. Now you tell me, what have we found out ever since?"

"Eric", Renko called in. "Hetty is with us, save as can be".  
Instead of an answer from Eric, it was Granger they heard.

"Hetty, you are needed at Ops. I have agents Blye and Deeks coming in with a suspect. And I want Hanna and Renko to go to the Long Beach docks as soon as possible. Address will be sent to you phones. Mr Callen should be waiting for you in there, that is, I ordered him to do so before he hung up on me".  
They could hear from those last words that Granger was not amused at all.

"Well? You heard the man. What are you two waiting for?" their boss was asking. "Off you go!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXxx

There were four men, she saw.  
It was this Ruiz that hurt her right now. Rhys had noticed before that he was not strong, but he was mean.  
Looking at what happened, rationally and as if she watched at a strange scene from a distance, she had nothing to lose. She decided that going down in a fight was always better than waiting for what they were going to do to her, in here or, even worse, in Colombia.

She knew enough of martial arts, observed the four men and attacked. First hit was her elbow towards Ruiz' throat. It helped, he let go of her hair. She managed to kick him towards two of the other men and started running in the long and empty corridor of this warehouse.  
There were only some containers inside, but hardly any place to hide. Rhys thought she saw an exit door further away and headed as quickly as she could to that direction.

She thought she could make it… until there was Ruiz, with a gun, right in front of her.  
"Well, a little wild cat you are, cuty. That's how I like it. Let's play more games".  
He came closer. Rhys did not know if she dared to fight him again, right now. Then, he grabbed her top and hit her hard in the face. She couldn't help crying out. When he tried to whack her with his gun, there were two gunshots. Ruiz fell down and would not hurt her again.

Rhys just stood still, shocked about what just happened. In the faint light, she saw somebody coming closer. It was Callen.

"Rhys? Are you alright?" he asked, walking towards her. And, when she did not react, he touched her arm. "Rhys?"  
She looked up at his face, and he saw dried blood, tracks of tears, fear and loneliness. The only thing he could do at that moment was simply take her in his arms and let her feel safe, so he did.

"Callen? They said you were dead. The showed me awful pictures… They_" She suddenly stopped talking and pushed him away from her, seeing one of the other man aiming a gun at them, and shoot it.  
Rhys saw the bullet, hitting Callen. He let out a loud groan, but managed to shoot the shooter anyhow.

"Is it bad?" she asked.  
"A graze, that's all", he said.  
Rhys took the gun of the man he just shot and helped Callen up.  
"We have to leave, there are more men in here", she said. "Which way to go to?"

"Those containers are filled with guns, ready to be shipped to Colombia" he said. "By now, Granger will have warned DEA, they will take over. I came from this direction, there is a door to a back entrance." They went to that part of the warehouse, and while Callen carefully opened the back door, Rhys watched back ways, thought she saw something moving in there.

Then, she heard Callen say "Simms, you're quick in here!"  
And, as she turned towards them, she heard Simms say "Do it". It was seconds later when she felt two bullets hit her in the back, even before she realized what happened. Before she fell down, there was more shooting. Then, it was quiet.

There were strong arms, turning her around, and pull her a bit upright, closer to his chest.

_It hurt, it hurt…_  
She looked up.  
_It hurt, it hurt…_

Lavender was the color of Rhys' eyes, Callen realized. He could not help thinking of colors or flowers, when at the same time he felt her blood leaking through his jeans. Her injuries were serious, but he was afraid to explore how serious, afraid to do more damage.

He softly touched her cold face, trying to keep her from getting unconscious. "Stay with me", he said, "C'mon Rhys, stay"…

Her eyes were blackening in pure pain. He could see it and even feel her pain. Or perhaps it was that he knew. He remembered the cold pavement in Venice, remembered every hurting breath, and finally even how darkness became welcoming.  
She was so pale and weak, working so hard to stay focused, fighting for it, but pain and blood loss were winning and she just had to close her eyes.  
"Oh no, please, keep your eyes open. Talk to me. Or listen."  
"Can not", she gasped.

Callen knew she was going into shock and she needed immediate treatment. Her breathing was far from regular and getting shallower with the minute. He was afraid she would slip away from him right on the spot.  
"Listen Rhys… give me a chance to get to know you better," he whispered, not knowing if she would hear it or not.  
He felt her struggle, felt she became still. He panicked for some seconds, then realized he still felt her heart beat.

He was in no condition to take her away from this spot, hardly feeling any power in his left shoulder where he had been shot.  
Leaving her now would mean she would die for sure.  
Waiting much longer meant they both could die; they might come to finish the job.

He hoped his team had been able to trace his phone or car and the cavalry would arrive soon.

* * *

_**[not the nicest ending of a chapter, I know... However, I would welcome reviews!]**_


	13. Chapter 13

"Two minutes," Renko shouted. Sam tried to speed up even more. Police had been alarmed and would come in soon after them and Eric had just informed them an ambulance would arrive from the opposite way.

Not knowing what they would find, they were both nervous. After all, not being able to contact Callen was far beyond ease.

"I'll enter the building, front side. You drive around it, see if you can find a back entrance", Renko planned. He took one of the vests from the back seat and put it on, and checked his weapon. As soon as Sam got to the front side of the warehouse from where the last phone tracks were made, Renko quickly got out.

Sam parked the car, got out, pulled his gun and carefully walked around the warehouse.

"I'm inside the building", he heard Renko. "Dead body in here. All clear so far, coming your way, Sam".

Sam nearly reached the back entrance. He saw a door partly opened. He took a deep breath, knowing there was nobody to have his back right now. He opened the door further and stepped inside.  
Then, he heard the click of a weapon and a dead calm, soft, warning "Federal Agent, put down your gun".

"G?!"  
"Dzjeez, Sam, I could have shot you. You should take care of yourself!"

Looking at Callen he was surprised to see his partner sitting so calmly on the concrete floor, tenderly holding a silent Rhys. While his eyes adjusted to the dim light he also noticed a dark stain on Callen's shirt and the dark pool on the floor and on Callen's jeans.

"Renko? I found Callen and Rhys, back entrance. Eric, need meds NOW! They're both wounded".

"How bad", Sam wanted to know from his partner.

He could read his partners eyes and noticed the sorrow.  
"I don't know how bad she is, she passed out some time ago. I can hardly hear her breathing anymore. She's bleeding so bad".

Sam noticed the way he caressed her face.

Then he said: "I saw it Sam, I saw Cortez, shooting her in the back, twice, after Simms ordered him to do so".  
He couldn't say it but he felt sick to think what happened earlier to Rhys. Could he have prevented that?

Sam interrupted his thoughts. "And you?"  
"Bullet grazed my left shoulder. I could not get her out of here, but for all I know somebody could come back. We need to get out of this place as soon as possible, Sam."

"No worries about that, back up is on its way".

In no time the place was crowded with police and medical personal.  
They carefully took Rhys who was still partly in his arms, partly on his lap and put her on a gurney.  
Callen swallowed. She was completely unresponsive, not the strong and lively person he met only days ago, but broken and perhaps dying.

Even the medics were quiet, looking at all the damage that was done by Simms' and Cortez's men. They worked quickly and a second team of paramedics arrived and worked hard with them, trying to stabilize her, sticking needles in veins, talking about a collapsed lung, serious internal bleeding. Beeping sounds of monitors.  
The moment they took a tube to slide it in Rhys' throat, Callen got nauseous and quickly looked away.

"Blood pressure is getting down!" someone yelled. "Get her in an ambulance and stay alert for flat-lining."

Callen felt Sam's hand on his shoulder.  
"She'll make it G, she proved to be a fighter…"

One of the paramedics came towards Callen.  
"Sir, you should come to a hospital as well. Want to join us or come in separately?"  
Without the usual arguing about not wanting to go, Callen quietly got in the second ambulance that followed the first one, sirens and lights activated all way down to the hospital.

It was Sam who had to call Hetty, hardly knowing what to say.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Apparently, there was no time to lose and the ambulances rushed to the nearest hospital. It would never be the agency's first choice, but that would be of later care.

Sam realized that this was the first time he saw Callen without complaints in a hospital. Nevertheless, he did check in with the alias Liam Raskonli and one text message later, Nell sent in Callens' medical file with this alias in.  
Sam felt it as his duty to stay with Callen and tell the doctor his parner sometimes showed strange behavior in hospitals. After that, he had to leave the room and to trust the ER doctors and nurses to do their work on Callen.

"Mr. Hanna, any updates yet? What happened exactly and where did they take Rhys?"

As ever, Sam did not hear Hetty coming in. As he turned towards her, he was shocked to see her. This morning, she had looked alright, but now Hetty looked as if she was ten years older all at once. He saw her worried like this once before, right after Callen got shot on the fifth of May.

"I don't know exactly what happened Hetty. Callen got all 'lone wolf' the moment he figured out where they might have taken Rhys, and he did not wait until we arrived".  
He paused, nearly afraid to be punished as a schoolboy by his teacher, Hetty.

"We weren't there yet. Once Eric had managed to trace the GPS on Callen's phone, we went in, but it was too late, they had already been shot. Callen will be alright. But Rhys is… Well, she is hurt so badly.  
When she came in, her heart stopped beating, they had to do a CPR and from what I heard last, it took a lot of time and effort to stabilize her before she could go into surgery".

XXXXXXXXXXXXx

It had been nearly four hours already that Rhys had been in the OR. Only once, one of the surgeons came out to inform them shortly about the operations.  
Still, they had not finished and the long waiting continued.

Renko had fallen asleep, his legs resting on one of the tables.

Sam had called Granger to inform him what had happened. It was Granger who informed him that the deceased men in the warehouse had been identified: Ruiz and Cortez, both killed by Callen.  
Deeks and Kensi had arrested Reynolds and with the perseverance of Nell, they managed to find enough proof that he was the one who gave clearance for the containers to be shipped to Panama and from there on, to Colombia.  
Granger also told Sam that Simms had shown up at John Wayne Airport from where he flew to Los Cabos in Mexico. They had no trace from there on.

Hetty sat, pale, worried, straight up and staring at the wall in front of her.

Sam felt sorry for their operational manager. He took her hand and looked her in the eyes.  
"There was nothing you could have done Hetty. It happened the way it happened, it's out of our hands now. She's a fighter, I noticed. Crap, I even feel it, now", he nervously smiled.  
His jaw still hurt from the fight he and Rhys had. It seemed like ages ago.

Hetty sighed. "Oh, Mr Hanna. I should have known better. The polite talk, as if he received a message. He must have composed it himself. The empty battery? It's signal was blocked. The wine? I never feel like that after only some glasses. There was more than wine alone I drank. All the time, I have been tricked, it was all a diversion. All that time, Simms had Cortez doing his nasty things. I should have prevented that, Sam."

"Sometimes things get out of our reach, Hetty, even if you wished they would not".  
They were quiet for a while.

A door opened, and Callen came their way, dizzy from anesthetics, pale and wearing a shirt that did not belong to him. He looked at them, hoping to hear some good news.

Sam shook his head. "Nothing yet G, sorry."

Callen bit his underlip, not knowing what to say. "If I had waited, maybe it wouldn't have happened".

"Oh, come on G. You know better than that. They would have killed her anyhow, if not in here, then it would have been in Colombia. You were there, did everything you could".  
Callen sighed.

Another half hour later, there finally was a doctor coming their way. "You are related to miss Brinck, I believe?"  
From the look on their faces, he knew he was correct.

"Yes… how is she?" Hetty asked in a soft voice.

The surgeon looked at her. "Well, she ís alive, but very, very critical and unstable.  
There were two bullet wounds. One of them perforated a lung and on its way further, it broke two ribs. The bullet needed to be removed. The other bullet came in the lower back. It was a mess inside, lots of internal damage. It also completely ruined a kidney. It left us no other choice than to remove it.  
We also noticed a head wound, bruises… she must have had a tough time", he concluded.

He looked at the four people and felt their next question coming.

"How her chances are, you want to know. Really, I cannot say. Only time will tell and especially in the first days, every hour she recovers will help. We will keep her in a medical coma, as long as possible. We have to see from day to day".

"When can we see her", Callen wanted to know.  
"Not yet, sir. In an hour time, we'll have her transferred to an IC-room".

It was hard to wait another hour, especially after what the doctor had told them.  
Then, all four of them came in, carefully as if they were afraid to wake Rhys. She looked small and young, lying so still in a hospital bed, surrounded by the pale blue blankets and hooked up to several machines that kept her alive.  
They all had their own feelings.

Renko was still impressed by Rhys, how she and her team had done a great job in Colombia. He could not imagine that the team was gone, and that the woman he admired for her bravery and her good looks, was lying in here like this.

Sam still felt a bit annoyed. This woman had saved his life, and saved Callen's life twice, or perhaps three times. He had had his doubts about her, but he had seen that nobody should mess with her, yet they did.

Hetty felt terrible. The girl had gone through so many terrible things during youth, deserving much more love than she had gotten. She had lost loved ones and she had saved so many lives already. But she hardly had a place to call home. Sure, Pat did his best to back her, but in his profession, she thought that he was more like a colleague to his daughter than a father. The girl needed more, she needed a place to feel safe, like she always had needed.  
Maybe Hetty could have done more in the past. And maybe she should have worked harder to get her back safe.

Callen, still shaky, remembered her in several occasions. He had seen her angry, vulnerable, hurt, afraid, in pain… There was only one thing he had not seen. He never saw her laughing and happy, like she had been on the picture Hetty had shown.  
Seeing her like this hurt him.  
He could rationalize that what he felt right now, was exactly what he had always tried to ban from his life. He needed to stay sharp and alert and feelings of hurt or affection might distract him in his work. Yet, he couldn't help it, he felt attracted to Rhys. He remembered how good she had looked in her sleep, how she had gently touched his skin, how she had looked into his eyes…  
He wanted her to know how he felt, but would there ever be an opportunity?

They all knew there was so little to do or to say.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The hospital was far away from the OSP and however this case could nearly be closed, there was work to do and the team should continue.  
This first night, it was decided that Callen would stay with Rhys. He needed the rest, and if something happened, he could call in the others.

However, rest hardly came. He always hated hospitals and now he got nervous from all the beeping, the dim light, he was alerted by people walking in and out of the room.  
It was early in the morning that Hetty walked in and saw he had fallen asleep, his head resting on some pillows he had gotten and the chair as close as possible to the headrest of Rhys' bed.

XXXXXXXXXX

It was four days later, and Rhys' situation had not changed at all.  
Hetty had spent lots of hours in the hospital. This afternoon, she had been working again and when Kensi volunteered to spend some time with Rhys, whom she had never met before, Callen had said he would join her.  
Through the window of the door, they saw an unknown man in Rhys' room, standing next to her bed. Definitely no doctor.  
Grabbing their guns, they entered the room. "Federal agents. Turn around, carefully. Hands in the air," Kensi said.  
It was exactly what the man did, and as he faced them, Callen saw his eyes: Lavender blue.

"You must be Pat Brinck", Callen said, putting his gun away.  
"Yes I am," he answered. "And you are in Henny's team, I assume?"

On their nods, he continued.  
"Henny, or Hetty as you call Henrietta, called me. We came in, not only to see Rhys, but also to bring the remains of her team members home. They deserve to be buried in England.  
I needed some time with my daughter. And if you'll excuse me, there is somebody else who wants to see her. Could you please wait outside?"  
They saw a younger man, red-haired, entering the room. He carried a little box.

Callen and Kensi left the room and waited outside.  
"He looks familiar to me", Kensi thought. "But I can't think where I saw that guy before".

"You know, there should be somebody to protect her room", Callen said. "What if somebody comes in here with the intention to harm her? What do we know of enemies she has? I'll call Hetty to see if she can arrange that."

After he made the call, the men were just leaving Rhys' room.

"Thank you", Pat said, "Perhaps we will meet again one of these days. I'll be staying in town until Rhys will be fit enough to travel back home, I think".  
The younger man looked at Callen and Kensi and just said "Take care of her, please".

As they re-entered the room, Callen noticed the small box, opened on the bedside table and containing a silver medal on a red ribbon.

"Now I know who she brought home, some years ago, from Afghanistan, it was him! Hetty told me about it, it was the first time she worked in a team. In countries like that, it would be too dangerous to work alone as a women, so they sent in the SAS team with her. Taliban had threatened to kidnap or kill this man; Rhys managed to get him out of the country unseen.  
And yes, this man should look familiar Kensi. You must have seen his face in several magazines, lots of girls in the UK want to marry him," Callen smiled.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Two weeks had passed already. Assistant director Granger had taken over some of Hetty's tasks and Hetty had spent a lot of time in the hospital, alone, or together with her brother in law, Pat.

The team had new cases to work on.  
Sam had asked Callen about Rhys every now and then, however, his partner kept his thoughts to himself.  
Callen visited the hospital every other day, only at moments he knew for sure that neither Hetty nor Pat would be in there and he never told the others that he went to see Rhys.  
He actually got to like the rhythm, the quiet hours, the times he did not have to do anything at all and he did not have to make any decisions. Sometimes, he just talked a bit about things he had done with his team, sometimes he took a book and read a bit.  
Sometimes he was wondering how she would spend her days, working from the UK, on missions like her last one, or during undercover missions when she worked alone. Why did things had to end up so wrong once she showed up in his town?

Although he never told anyone about his visits to the hospital, Hetty knew. Nurses had told her about it, and she had noticed how her senior agent looked more relaxed than ever.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The doctors were quite satisfied about Rhys's situation after nearly three weeks. Everything had been stable and her wounds healed well enough. They told Pat and Hetty that they intended to end the sedative medication, replace it with painkillers only and slowly wake Rhys.

The hurt had been replaced by another experience, as if something enormously heavy had been placed on her back and breathing in and out seemed like an exercise. Rhys was too fuzzy to realize why.  
She felt and saw the sun shine on her face, the light hurting her eyes when she opened them, so she quickly closed them again. Then she realized she was lying on her back, so the feeling seemed so wrong.  
Slowly, she opened her eyes again, and she saw white and empty walls. It smelled clean and clinical and then she remembered, all of it and everything. It hurt, being alone.

* * *

_**[Thanks for reading! Reviews are appreciated, of course]**_


	14. Chapter 14

Just before she closed her eyes again, she did remember all the noises that belonged to a hospital. Hands touching her, voices talking to her. Voices and noises at the same time.

Dad had been around and Henny. And when all was quiet around, he had been there. She had heard him talking every now and then, but he had also just been quiet and she had felt safe.

The next time she woke up, it was different. There was a nurse in her room, and a doctor, and Pat sat next to her.

"Hey there. Glad you finally finished your beauty sleep," he said.

Rhys smiled and said "Pat"! It was just a whisper and she tried to clear her throat. That hurt and she softly moaned. The nurse turned towards her: "Here, let me help you. This will soften your throat a little and helps curing it. Don't try to talk too much."

Then the doctor came to see her, talking about all kind of healing processes. She could not focus on everything and it wore her out trying to concentrate.  
When they left, Pat looked at her and said: "There's a long way to go girl. How do you feel?"

"Tired. Could sleep a whole day" she said.

"Rhys, you just woke up from a 3 weeks sleep", her father said concerned. But he saw that she needed to rest and left soon afterwards, promising to be back soon.

Later that day she was woken by nurses coming in, by beeps of monitors and sounds on the corridor.

She was exhausted by the time Hetty came to see her, late in the afternoon. "It is so good to have you back, dear girl" Hetty said, and she carefully hugged her niece.

"Thanks Henny. Are you alright?" Rhys wanted to know.

"I am, and I was all the time, Rhys."

"Did Callen shoot them all?" she asked in a small voice, afraid for the answer.

Hetty looked at her and sighed. "No. As for Ruiz and Cortez, he did. They're dead. Two others were arrested. But Simms, he got away and left the country."

She saw how Rhys dealt with this information.  
"You should get your rest, Rhys, you need it. I'll call for the nurse". Soon afterwards a nurse came in and added some sedatives into the IV that was still running.  
Hetty stayed until her niece fell asleep.

This time, sleep was terrible. It was as if she re-experienced every second of the last few hours in that warehouse.

When Callen came in, she was having terrible nightmares from which she could not escape. The only thing he could do was to try and comfort her while she was asleep, trying to keep her as still as possible. He caressed her hair, her face, he softly talked to her and he still felt helpless.  
He knew what she went through; it were the sedatives and they would have to leave her system before she could have a healthy sleep.  
The nightmares lasted until early the next morning, and he stayed with her all the time. When the nurse came in again, she saw he had fallen asleep as well, and she left quietly.

Rhys woke up when she heard the buzz from a telephone. She was surprised to see a sleepy Callen, sitting in the chair next to her bed, answering it.  
"Yes?– Sure. I'll be there. – No, it'll take longer. – Right, I'll see you".

He stretched and yawned, and then he felt her blue eyes were following his moves.  
"You slept in here?" she asked.  
"I tried to", Callen answered, not knowing if he should talk to her about how bad her sleep had been.

"Doesn't feel like I slept at all," Rhys said, "I still feel tired".

"Uhum. Make sure that they will not give you any sedatives again. They won't work for you, believe me".

He took his bag. "I'll try and find a shower in here, and I'll have to get to work". He looked at her and smiled. "Get out of here soon Rhys. I hate hospitals."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Hetty watched Callen coming in at the bullpen.

"Oh, Mr Callen, could I have a word with you before you join your colleagues," she said. "Please, be seated. I'll pour you a …" and, as she looked at him, she continued "a black coffee would be best. You'll take it later. It seems you had a bad night and you overslept as well. Did she have a good rest"?

Callen was quiet for a while.  
"How… You.." he stammered. Then he looked at her. "Nightmares, Hetty. Light sedatives give you terrible nightmares. It was awful to watch and there's no escaping from them. Please make sure she doesn't get those sedatives again."

"Thank you Mr Callen. And yes, I knew. I knew it, I could see it before they told me. Now, off to ops, Mr Hanna will brief you about the new case".

Upstairs, Callen felt the curious looks of his teammates. He had decided not to tell them.  
"Sorry, I overslept. Nightmare. What have we got?"

Sam informed his partner about the new case. A Russian gas company had recruited some former marines for security work. One of them went missing, another one died.

Eric had found out that a new manager was coming in from Russia and in order to solve this case, they would intercept the manager. Callen would replace him and go undercover to find out all about the company on the inside.  
The rest of the team would work from the outside, finding out about other recruits and their whereabouts.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXx

During the next few days, both Hetty and Pat visited the hospital regularly. Rhys felt a bit disappointed that Callen did not show up.

The doctors were satisfied about her recovery. It was her favorite doctor, Williams, who suggested she could try a physiotherapy session later that day. It would be only to see how her lung capacity would be, however, Rhys was nervous about it.  
She was determined to get out of this bed and out of the hospital as soon as possible. Doctor Williams had explained that she would feel tired for the first weeks, simply because her body had to get used to work with only one kidney. She would have to use medication for that, but if that were all, she would manage.

It was harder than she had imagined. A simple thing as sitting straight, hopping over to a wheelchair with help of a nurse and going to the physio took so much energy, so much more than she ever expected. She managed without complaints. All she had to do was to try and sit straight and breath in and out as deeply as possible. After that, back into the wheelchair and back to her room. But she felt so glad that she finally had left the bed for a while, and even happier that she was allowed to have a shower afterwards.

Later that afternoon, there was a visitor for her. He introduced himself as Deeks, LAPD. He handed her a small bag, which contained a Russian magazine about Los Angeles and an envelope.  
"Callen asked me to bring this. He thought you might like it."

The envelope contained a small note, also written in Russian. She smiled. Henny must have told him that she knew Russian.

"How do you know Callen?" Rhys aked curious.  
Deeks told her that he was one of the four members of the team. "Callen is the agent in charge, and he mostly works with Sam. Right now, Sam and Kensi work together but normally, I work with Kensi. You know her? She visited you before, when your dad was here."

He kept talking, full of energy. Talking about a mission he could not talk about, about how their team was like a family… He talked about so many things, except about Callen.  
Deeks kept talking, until he noticed she was worn out.  
"You know what? I'll just say hi when I see him again, which might take a while," he said. And on that, he left.

Rhys smiled, glad with the little note he had written.  
"Found a nice place in town already? Get inspired!" it said.

She tried to read a bit, but noticed her thoughts were somewhere else.  
When Deeks had told about their team, she wished she could work like that as well. She was used to work alone, or to be linked to a team of four. That team would always be able to work on its own and even when they worked together, she sometimes felt alone.

She didn't have many people around her that really knew her. There was, of course, Pat. It was a strange relationship, being his daughter and working as one of his agents as well. There was Henny, whom she really loved, but there had not been so many opportunities to stay together.  
When she was younger, there were loads of friends. She had lost so many dear ones that she was afraid to get hurt again, so she had avoided friendships. Besides that, in her kind of work, it was easier not to get attached to people or places. The missions she worked on were mostly long-lasting, sometimes a week, more often weeks or even months.  
There had hardly been a place she would call home. Maybe she could stay a little longer in this city indeed, she thought.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Another week passed and Rhys got bored from being in the hospital. She felt stronger every day so she decided to ask her doctor how much longer she would have to stay. Much to her surprise, he had thought that over already.

"If, and I emphasize that, if you can find a place near a hospital, with family or friends, and if you promise to work hard on your overall condition. I think it's better to recover in a place without doctors from now on."

Hetty met a happy Rhys that afternoon.  
"Now I only have to find a place to stay. And do some shopping, of course. Maybe I can do some swimming and running on the beach!"

Hetty was glad to see her how her niece got carried away by the regained freedom she would have. She also knew that recovering would take longer than Rhys would think.

"There is a nice beach house, very close to mine in Malibu, which I rent for special occasions. Mr Callen was going to use it for an undercover operation, but he has not been in there yet. You could use it for some weeks. As far as your wardrobe is concerned: I will ask Miss Blye if she can do some shopping for you. You're not in a condition yet to do that".

The next day, after lunch, Rhys sat ready, wearing the green dress she still had. She was excited to leave. Soon, she saw a beautiful woman coming towards her, with dark, long hair and a sweet smile.  
"Rhys, hi. Hetty asked if I could pick you up. Ready to go?"

Kensi gazed at Rhys. She looked very pale, but her blue eyes were bright and in one way or another, she looked strong and relaxed at the same time. When Kensi imagined what the other woman had gone through, she shivered.

Just when Rhys was going to say something, Kensi's phone beeped.  
"Kensi – nothing yet?—Uhu. You mean at OSP. Did she really say that? – Right, we'll be there."

Rhys had seen how Kensi suddenly had been serious.  
"So, you are Kensi. We haven't met before, have we? The only thing I know is that you work with Deeks".

Kensi smiled. "Hope he told not too much? He's never shutting up you know".  
From Kensi's smile, Rhys could read that she really liked her partner.  
Chatting about all kind of things, Kensi drove fast to the other side of town. Rhys was getting quieter. She did not want to confess, but the ride exhausted her more than she would have expected beforehand.  
Kensi stopped near an old, industrial building.

"Our office, Rhys. Normally, nobody is allowed to visit, but Hetty insisted I'ld bring you in here. Wait, I have a suitcase with stuff in my trunk, need to bring that too".

Then, Kensi opened the door to the bullpen and both women walked in. Rhys was surprised by the way this building was designed, buzzing with people. She stood there, and then she saw Sam, and Deeks, and Kensi walking to another desk near them. Both men saw her, smiled at her and immediately continued their serious talk.

"Well? Not at all like Pat's HQ, is it?"  
Rhys had not heard Hetty until she spoke, and she looked at her aunt and smiled.

"Not at all Henny. But I like it, it's weird yet cosy".  
"Dear girl, you look so fatigue. We shall leave soon, but before we do, I want you to have a good gun. After all. A girl needs to be able to protect herself. So, let us pick one that suits you for now".

Hetty took her to a room, filled with all kind of weaponry. Rhys chose a Keltec and put it in her handbag.  
After that, Hetty waved to the team, told them she'ld be right back, and invited Rhys to take place in her Jaguar.  
Only a quarter of an hour later, she stopped her car in front of a beautiful blue-grayish beach house, with views over the Pacific and the beach in front of it. Rhys loved it the minute she saw it.  
Once Hetty had carried in the suitcase and showed her around in the house, the only thing Rhys wanted was to get some sleep. Hetty handed her a phone, saw the tired girl and left, promising to be back later that night.

XXXXXXX

Rhys had slept only for an hour and felt better immediately after. She always loved being near sea and beaches. She sat on the deck, watching people on the beach, and inhaled the fresh air again. Then, there was a knock on the door. She was surprised that Hetty was back so soon, and opened the door.

It was not Hetty who had knocked on the door, but two men she did not know and who entered the house without hesitation.  
She had to switch quickly when they asked 'Григорий дома' [Is Gregory at home]?.  
The best thing she thought she could do was answer in Russian that he wasn't home yet, but that she would call him.

And so she called, in Russian, the only number programmed in the phone: "Hi Gregory, it's Risa honey. Your guests have arrived, will you be home soon?"


	15. Chapter 15

_"Hi Gregory, it's Risa honey. Your guests have arrived, will you get home soon?"_

If she had not worked in the field as an agent, Rhys would never had been inventive like she was right now.  
The only number on her phone was Hetty's. Hetty knew she spoke Russian, and she certainly would get the hint, that there were Russian speaking people with her in this beach house. Rhys was also sure Hetty would send somebody in soon. After all, it had only be a short drive from the office to this beach house and it was Hetty's house, so nobody else would know of it.  
All she had to do was to stay polite and to stay upright, because she experienced how low her energy levels were.

"Gregory did not tell me he expected guests. What can I offer you to drink?" Rhys asked, trying to play a perfect house wife.

"Gregory did not tell us he had you waiting here for him" was the short answer of one of the men.

"No, of course he did not. I arrived earlier today and I still have to unpack", she said, walking to the kitchen, opening some cupboards and the fridge, hoping there would be something she could offer.

Both men kept standing in the living room, she heard them whispering but could not hear what they said. From where she stood, she saw they were both carrying a gun. Hers was in her handbag which was still in the bedroom.  
What had Henny said? 'A girl needs to be able to protect herself'. There she was, with two armed men between her and her gun…

She found a cucumber and decided to chop it, making a Russian salad with some salt and olives.  
While she was doing that, she heard the door being opened with a key, and a sharp dressed Callen stepped in.  
He was alerted to see the company he was in, obviously not expecting them. However, Rhys could see he immediately adjusted, naturally.  
That is when he stepped through the living room, into the kitchen.  
"So glad to have you here", he said and then he did what she had wanted weeks ago. He kept his blue eyes locked on her lavender blues, and he kissed her, neither too tender nor rough. Rhys was pleasantly surprised by this kiss, which ended too soon.

"I preferred the blonde girl you had over for dinner last week, Gregory," one of the men said. At that point, he drew his gun and continued "But no worries, you will not enjoy this one too long, unfortunately. You have been too curious about our actions and that should end now".  
With two guns pointed at him, it was clear that Callen could not overwhelm both men. He was calculating his chances when he heard Rhys say "left's mine—now" and at the moment he ducked, he shot the person on his right. Meanwhile Rhys had thrown the knife she had used in the kitchen with accurate precision into the other guys arm.  
Both of them were only wounded but were no threats to them anymore. Callen quickly took their guns, kept his aimed at them and then he called Sam.

"Sam? Got them. Hetty's beach house—" he paused and listened "Here?"  
He walked towards the deck and saw Kensi and Deeks on the beach coming near the house, guns at the ready. He waved at them, so they noticed it was all right.  
Then he turned around and opened the door, where Sam just put his gun away and entered the house. Together, they both cuffed the Russian guys and guided them out of the house, into the large Ford in which Callen's team mates had come.

"How did you get here so soon?" Callen wanted to know from his partner.  
Sam smiled and nodded towards the house "'Risa' called Hetty. All in Russian. Comes in handy, such a partner".

Callen stepped back into the house. He saw Rhys, leaning against the kitchen's worktop, definitely worn out.

"Hey… thanks" he said. "Rhys, I, ehm, I need to go back to OSP with Sam to get this case closed. Shall I ask Kensi to stay?"

"Djeez, come on, I don't need a babysitter! In case you had not noticed, I'm a grown up and I'm used to living alone. I am a trained agent just like you, I have a gun, I'll close all doors, I will not let anyone in and I'll be alright. Okay?"

On that, she pulled herself from the kitchen to the deck.  
Rhys was tired indeed, but also irritated. Henny could have told her Callen hád used the beach house. And now that he had used it, he and his team were about to walk out without explaining what had happened or who those men were. On top of it, he now treated her as a silly schoolgirl. Pretty sure he had just used her as a distraction when he kissed her.

Sam called from outside "G, let's go now!"

"They're waiting for you, Callen".  
She heard him sighing.  
"Yes. I'll be back, using my key, if it's alright with you".

"Sure."  
When the door softly closed, Rhys felt like crap. She took a deep breath and went back inside. She knew that it was because of feelings like this that she kept away from relations.  
What did she know of this man, except that he was a self-assured and good looking agent. Of course he dated blonde girls and probably good looking other girls as well…

She threw out her shoes and opened the suitcase that Kensi had brought. She saw some jeans, shirts, shorts, dresses, make up, well, everything a woman could want.  
She picked a blue tanktop and knickers, undressed and took a long shower which made her feel better immediately. She opened a window in the bedroom, let the ocean wind come in and went to bed, falling asleep straightaway.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Once back at the OSP, both Russians were taken into custody. For Callen, a debriefing session started which was a standard procedure after undercover missions. It didn't take too long, because he had kept briefing his team from inside the gaz company all the time.  
When he had finished, his team mates were waiting.

"Finally done?" Kensi asked. "We've booked a table at Hillstone and guess what, we can make use of Hetty's wardrobe this time". She giggled. "Deeks is already trying on some suits, he wants to look sharp dressed to impress the girls".  
They had decided to have diner all together, closing this long case.  
Callen saw Nell looking in admiration to Renko, who looked charmingly sturdy. Eric still looked like a student, even in a jeans and red polo going with it.  
Callen smiled, looking forward to this night out.

"Hetty's not joining us?" he asked.

"No, she's having Pat as a guest and from what I heard, she wanted to see if Rhys is alright and have her over for diner", Sam answered.

####

They all had a great night, with a lot of laughter. The girls talking about men, the men talking about girls they saw around.  
It was Renko who said that they should have asked Rhys as well. "But then, I was going to ask her out anyway, promised myself weeks ago. Just to say thank you. She's gorgeous, don't you think?"  
Callen was surprised by his colleague and fell silent.

"Not your style then, is she, Callen" Deeks tried to provoke. "You never date girls with guns, or was it girls with handcuffs? But boy, Charlene looked as possessive as could be when she joined you last week. How did that night end, huh?"

It didn't work, like it never worked. Callen was wise and did not react.

After they had finished, they all left. This time, Callen was driving and on their way Sam asked "Where are you staying, G?".  
Callen looked at his partner. "I'll stay where my stuff is. Same apartment in Venice."  
At Sam's place, he stopped his car and Sam got out. "See you tomorrow. Pick me up please, the Dodge is still parked at HQ".

Callen left.  
It was late already and he was hesitating if he would go home or drive to the beach house.

* * *

**Would like to hear your thoughts about what should happen next in your review. **

_Of course, I already know_ :-)

**RichtsjeS**


	16. Chapter 16

Callen decided to take the detour.  
He had not liked the way he left Rhys earlier that afternoon, but had not found the right words at that moment. Besides that, he had a job to finish and he was glad this case was over and he could get back with his normal life.  
He had a great evening and night with his team, his friends.  
Rhys would have had a cosy night with her family, something Callen would never have.

He stopped his Mercedes in front of the house and took his set of keys. All was dark. He suddenly doubted.  
Perhaps she was still at Hetty's place, or perhaps she was sleeping. In that case, he did not want to wake her, because she needed it more than ever. To him, it seemed as if she recovered miraculously quick, but maybe she just kept going when there were other people around.  
She had looked so tired this afternoon and he hadn't even asked how she was doing, he didn't even know when she had left the hospital...  
He took the wisest decision for now and went home.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Earlier that night, Hetty had checked if Rhys was alright and she had wanted to invite her for diner. However, the girl was sleeping and she didn't want to wake her. Instead, Hetty went back and brought some sandwiches for the moment she would wake up.

Rhys had slept for only five hours. She found the sandwiches and ate them in the dark, on the deck. In a way, it felt good being on her own.  
She was used to be alone, although she had loved being amongst friends when she was younger. But friends had died or left and she chose a different lifestyle. Lately, she had only been paired up with teams of the special air service regiment, not really 'her' team. Working alone or working in a team didn't make much of a difference, those guys did not have anything in common with her and although they shared missions, there wasn't anything else to share at all.  
Maybe she could ask Pat if it was possible to form a team like Callen's team. She would love to work like that, being able to share thoughts and ideas and work from a headquarters only.

She thought she heard a car stopping in front of the house and quickly went inside, taking the gun this time. Indeed, she could see a car parked on the street. She wasn't sure what to do and just as she picked up the phone to call Hetty, the car left.  
She put the phone and the gun away, put on a shirt and a pair of jeans and decided to take a walk on the beach. Temperatures were good, even now at midnight.  
It was only a short walk, far too short. Rhys found it frustrating that she was tired so soon. Deep breathing also still hurt. Doctor Williams had warned her about it. Medication should help, so would medication and enough rest and sleep. She grimaced. As if this afternoon had been restful. No way.

After she got back into the house, she took a novel and tried to read a bit but fell asleep with the lights on.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Pat joined her the next morning for breakfast, as Hetty had left early for work.  
"I'll be leaving next Friday, Rhys. There's work to be done and you'll recover fine, even without your dad".

She sighed. "That's true, I'll manage."  
He noticed his daughter did not look too happy. "Hey. I brought you a camera. It might help you to kill time," he tried to joke. "Hetty is still around, you know".

"Hetty has her job, Pat, like you have yours. But the camera's okay. At least I can shoot something". It had been their regular joke.  
She liked taking pictures, always had. Her father had given her a first camera in the year she came to Wales. Even though she was young at that time, she managed to capture light, facial expressions and nature perfectly with the camera.

"So, you'll leave on Friday. That's three days from now. Maybe Hetty and I could have a goodbye party with you. I'ld have something to do, cause really Pat, it's killing me how boring a day can be. It was boring in the hospital, right now I'm already afraid how long a day and a night can be if there is nothing to do."

Pat looked at his daughter. He wasn't used to hear any complaints at all from her side. He knew she could be restive in between jobs, but those periods were always short because she needed time to prepare new missions.  
As one of his best agents, she never complained. And as his daughter, well, their relationship had been differently. Never like this.  
However, he had never worried about her wellbeing either, simply because nothing like what had happened here in Los Angeles, had ever happened to her before. She had not been careless, it had been bad luck, meeting the wrong people at the wrong moment perhaps. She had never needed a protective dad in his opinion, she had always been able to protect herself.  
He had been shocked to hear that his girl had been captured, assaulted, hurt and nearly died. Not only that, in only 24 hours she had seen dear ones die and getting hurt and she had saved some people in the meantime. Despite of it all, she looked strong and yes, she would manage, he knew.

"Let's go for a ride then. You might need some new stuff before you get bored even more".  
They did some sightseeing, she found some new books and magazines and they had lunch together.  
Once back in the beach house, he left her to get some rest. She put a blanket in the deckchair and took the camera to get some practice with it.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

In the late afternoon, she had put on a jeans short and a white blouse before she went for a walk again.

Callen had asked Hetty earlier today how their family diner had been, and he felt sorry to hear Rhys had been alone after such an eventful day.

He was going for a run on the beach, like he did twice a week, and decided to do it on this beach today. Rhys wasn't there when Callen came in, not inside, nor on the deck.  
He saw a camera – hers - put it on and admired the quality of the pictures on it. Some black and whites, some great children's portraits, sunlight playing with the waves… She was good at it, he thought.  
He overlooked the beach and smiled as he saw her, barefoot, throwing some pebbles into the waves. He took the camera, zoomed in and caught her, close on the camera, but definitely far away with her thoughts.  
He put the camera away and walked towards her.

"Hey there, stranger. Care for a walk?"  
Rhys turned around. She hadn't heard him coming.  
"Привет Григорий. Как поживаешь? [Hello Gregory. How are you today]", she asked with a smile.

"Ah, fine. Much better since yesterday", he answered. "Had some busy weeks, acting as a Russian manager. And you, 'Risa', performed great yesterday. Thanks again", he said, softer.

"It wasn't that much", she said. "I always wanted to try it, throwing knives, but never had the opportunity to practice. A good exercise it was."

Callen noticed that, only after a short walk, Rhys still had trouble with her breathing. He remembered he had had the same problems, years ago. Although he tried not to show it, he felt guilty. He still felt he could have prevented the shooting, if only he had distrusted Simms even more than he had done.

"You go, Callen, go for that run. I'll catch up with you later", she tried to joke.

"Are you sure about that?" and on her nod, he left. This part of the beach was nearly empty and on her way back, she found a palm tree that gave her all the support she needed.  
When he came back, he found her underneath the palm tree, still tired.

They slowly continued the walke back to the house. He offered her to get some pizza's and she agreed. When he came back after that, he found her jeans and blouse thrown on the floor. He caught her sleeping on top of the white sheets, dressed only in a small tank top and knickers, her hair dark and wild right now. She looked gorgeous, he thought.  
He watched her for a while, then sighed and ate his pizza, alone on the deck…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Rhys had asked Hetty about a goodbye party for Pat. At Hetty's place, there was enough room to invite some people. Hetty had a large garden with a swimming pool, and the garden ended on the beach as well.  
Hetty had decided to ask the team to come in for a barbecue. She had seen how lonely her niece was, perhaps too much, and she might like some more company. Pat had been joining them at the OSP a few times during the time he had been in town, so he had met all of them.

Now, the place was crowded. Sam had taken his wife and two kids, and while Rhys had a chat with an older man called Granger, she noticed the bantering between the partners, the fun they had and how fond they were on Hetty. She had never experienced something like it before and felt like an outsider.  
She had taken the camera with her, but hadn't taken any pictures with it. Pat had, as he liked it as well.

Rhys had put her shoes of and sat on the pool corner, her legs in the water. She observed the group of people and liked the fun that Sam's kids had in the pool, with or without their dad.  
The boy got out and had a lot of fun with 'uncle Callen', trying to push him into the water. Of course, he managed. Rhys laughed when he did so, enjoyed the fun of the little boy when Callen plunged into the pool.

"So you're laughing at me? Do you know how it is, being thrown into a pool completely dressed and all?!"  
For just some seconds, Callen giddily wanted to pull Rhys into the pool as well but then, to add to the fun of the kids, he just splashed her wet and she joined the game, having fun with and like the kids. It was then when Pat took a picture of her.  
She laughed out loud, just until she had to cough, which still hurt, and she stopped.

Hetty had quietly enjoyed the fun the four of them had: Sam's kids with their favourite 'uncle' and with Rhys. She got a bit worried when she observed Rhys' coughing and wet clothes.  
"Mr Callen, I suggest you get out of this pool and take care of dry clothes for the both of you".

Even now, on a relaxed night off, she got bossing around, however, in a friendly way.  
Callen got out of the pool and helped Rhys up.

"Let's walk to the other house. You really do need some dry clothes. I'll get my bag out of the car, have some spare things in there".  
He saw the sparkle in her eyes and didn't mind leaving the party.

* * *

**_Hope you liked this in-between-chapter_**


	17. Chapter 17

_**Oh, alright then. A bit of romance...**_

* * *

"Mind you, no wet floors are allowed, Mr Callen". Her lavender eyes twinkled.

"If that's the case, miss Brinck, I'ld be glad to help you on this one". He took off his wet shirt and watched her come closer to him. Her fingers touched the fading scar on his collarbone and her lips followed.

"The jeans, Rhys. They're soaked. Any idea what to do with those?" He let out a deep sigh when Rhys slowly moved her hands from his shoulders towards his waist and unbuttoned the jeans.

All the time he had watched her, she was mesmerized by what she saw and did.

"How about this little dress? It's wet too. Maybe you should leave it here, on the deck?"

"Do you really think so?" she asked him in an innocent voice. She gazed at him and slowly she stepped out of her dress. Then Rhys turned around and went inside the dark house, knowing he would follow.

Although she had been teasing, she felt nervous. This man intrigued her, she loved his sturdy and sometimes rough look, and the way he looked at her right now, she knew she could fall in love with him. But she was also afraid to give her heart away and get hurt.

Callen had liked her company this evening, he had never seen Rhys as relaxed as today, although she had been observingly as ever. The girl had everything he loved and despite the fact his ratio shouted to keep feelings like this far away, he couldn't help it that he wanted to keep her close.

They both knew what they wanted. Finding each other that night was perfect.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Rhys watched Callen, lying next to her. He looked so handsome and had made her feel so good. She sighed. His eyes were closed and she startled when he said "do you like what you see?"  
When he looked at her, she suddenly felt shy.  
"Uhu. You are a good looking yet mystery guy, mister Callen. There is hardly anything I know about you, yet here we are."

"Well, one of the only things I know of you is that you enjoyed the game we just played", he smiled a naughty smile.  
"What do you think, should we get back to Hetty's place?"

She blushed. "Wouldn't they make fun of us, of me? Maybe I'ld better stay in here…"

He understood. He knew his team too well, and indeed, there might be some too inquiring questions.  
"You know what, I'll go back and tell you took a long shower and I had to wait until you finished it. I'll be back soon."

He took out the spare set of clothes he always carried with him in his car and walked back to Hetty's place.  
Rhys had been right and he should have known better too. The curious look from Kensi, the remarks from Deeks and Renko…  
He decided to play innocent "She didn't feel too well, so what else could I do? Anyone who would have took her home would take care of her".  
It didn't make him feel any better.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Callen returned to the beach house like he had promised. Since all was dark, he quietly put off his jeans and shirt and stepped into the bedroom. He found Rhys, sleeping like he had caught her the night before, lying on the sheets in a blue top and knickers.  
He slipped into the bed, close to her, and realized it felt good.

Rhys had dozed a bit until she felt Callen close to her. She moved towards him until she felt his arms around her and his kisses in her neck. It made her feel good and yes, they were going to feel better when they finished what they just started.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Callen woke up with the smell of fresh coffee. Rhys had been up early, as she was a terrible sleeper. She had prepared some toasts and stood, barefoot and dressed in a pair of shorts and shirt, sipping her coffee, on the deck.  
He noticed her distant look, as if she was far away. The moment she heard him pouring himself some coffee, she turned around and said "Hey there, sleepy head. Noticed the time?"

Callen was surprised to see he slept about six hours, which was unusual for him.  
Although they had a nice night out at Hetty's place, it was Friday and an ordinary workday. However, as long as there were no new cases, it was agreed that all would be in at 10:00  
While he enjoyed his cup of coffee on the deck, Rhys was inside, making herself another toast.

She heard some shouting from the beach, definitely meant for Callen. "Still caring, Callen? Remember tonight's out with Blondie, I mean, Charlene, Kensi and me. Great you finally met a girl who's not involved with law enforcement, not wearing a gun and never using handcuffs!"  
This was definitely Deeks, Rhys could hear it.

"That's right buddy. Callen's rule number 1!" She heard Callen reacting to his team member.

It struck her, and it hurt.  
So, he had told the others that he was here to take care of her. No problem. And sure, he had planned a night with friends. Why not. But obviously, he was the kind of guy who preferred blondes. That was so not her. And obviously, he kept far from woman in the same line of work. So not her.  
This was exactly why she always avoided relationships: she did not want to get hurt or be lied to. And damned, it happened. It had been too good to be true…

Rhys went to the bathroom and closed the door. She felt like she could cry and she let the taps run, splashed cold water into her face.

Callen knocked on the door. "Rhys? I need to get back to work now. Shall I come back later this weekend?"  
He heard her mumbling something which he understood as a yes. "I'll see you tomorrow then".

She heard the door close. Then she made her decision.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It was late in the Saturday afternoon when Callen parked his car in front of the beach house again.  
He took his bag out of the Mercedes, walked towards the door and opened it. He dropped his bag and went straight to the deck, where Rhys would probably be. She wasn't there. Stepping back into the house, he immediately saw it. All was too neat. Opening the bedroom door, nothing there. Except for one little note on the bed, which said:

Rhys' rule number one. Don't hurt my feelings.

She had left.  
Callen was completely thunderstruck. What could have happened that she left so suddenly? Then, he suddenly realized he had yelled from the deck towards Deeks. Had he really done that? G. Callen, the brave agent, who had always kept far away from showing his true feelings, had hidden his feelings to deep. He, who was afraid to have his feelings hurt, had obviously hurt hers.  
And now? He couldn't just ask Hetty, could he? Should he ask Sam for advice? He really didn't know.  
He took his bag and left.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Early Monday morning, before his team had arrived, Callen had been for a workout already. After a shower he took his daily newspaper and some coffee and tried to concentrate on reading. The last two nights had been terrible and he had wished he could turn back time.  
He had decided to keep it all to himself, maybe Rhys would show up one of these days.

The others would come in later. After another sip of coffee, there was a loud whistle. It was not Eric this time, but the one person he wanted to avoid.  
"At ops please."  
He sighed. Hetty had always been able to read his mind and she would not hesitate to tell him where he went wrong.

Once up, he only had to deal with Nell and Hetty. However, once Nell had started the systems, she left.

Callen looked at Hetty, puzzled by this early morning call.  
"Oh Mr Callen. Avoiding me won't help avoiding what you feel. She left, with Patt. I don't know why, I don't know what happened between her and you, and it is not of my business. I can see it hurt you and from what I heard from Patt, Rhys wasn't better off."

He tried to look away, bit his under lip. "It was something Deeks shouted and my reaction. The most stupid thing."

"As I said. None of my business. What bothers me is that she flew against medical advice, and Patt called me she left the UK almost immediately after."

"Flying against medical advice, twice? How stubborn can that be?" he looked his operations manager in the eyes.

"Just as stubborn as not being able to speak out how one feels Mr Callen. Now, you and I can speak with Patt and try and find out where she might have gone. "

On the large screen, Callen saw Patt in what obviously was his office. In the background, there were several black&white pictures, probably made by him or Rhys.

"Callen. As you know by now, Rhys flew back with me. She spent only one day in our Wales home, and left again, flying from Manchester. She uses one of the passports going with an alias, so she's not Rhys Brinck right now, it's Katherine Jones. She only took some cash money and a bag with the most necessary stuff with her. The reason I inform Henny and you, is because she took a flight to Medellin. I'm afraid she might do something stupid for the first time in her life".

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_**Too bad, only one more chapter to come... Please, do review**_

_**RichtsjeS**_


	18. Chapter 18

**_Isn't it incredible that on fanfictionnet we can just borrow such great characters as our G. Callen? Gratefull for that!_**

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"Medellin? Seriously?"  
Callen was truly shocked. It was the place they had threatened to take Rhys and it had obviously scared her. Why go there voluntarily?

"Did she go there on her own, Patt, or in company of a SAS-team?" Hetty asked.

"All alone and that is what bothers me most Henny. I know my people and Rhys is probably one of the best I have. But she was far from recovered and she should have stayed with you. There must be a pretty good reason to go to Colombia".

"There is only one reason I can think of, and I don't like it either", Callen said. "Simms".

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

She had been in the Welsh house only for one full day, while Patt had gone to London straight on. She liked the house, and loved the surroundings. Close to the sea, but in a greener and rougher surroundings and cliffs nearby. This time, she did not feel relaxed or at home.

Rhys had serious doubts if leaving Los Angeles, leaving Callen, had been the right thing to do. She had never met anyone like him; gorgeous but unaware of that. Mysterious: she really did not know anything about him. Not about his past, about his habits, about his family, nothing at all. Caring too. But she had seen him concentrated, brave, angry, irritated and bossy as well.  
Still, he had everything she had ever wanted. Everything. But obviously, it wasn't the other way around. She had cried about it, when there was no one else around.

Patt had been completely surprised when she had said she was going home with him. He had asked if doctors allowed a long flight, and she really did not know but didn't care either. She took her medicines back home and would use them, for sure.  
Rhys had hoped that leaving Los Angeles would also mean she would leave love, hurt, pain and fear behind. There was one unfinished thing, however, that she might finish: find Dean Simms and get him back where he should be: in Los Angeles, arrested and well.

Her computer at home was an advanced system, like the ones they used at the Vauxhall Cross HQ. She used it to carefully plan a route and a decoy that she thought would work and decided to go for it. She put some addresses and numbers on a small memory card that would fit in her phone, after that, she packed lightly and took two passports with her, her own and one of her aliases, and lots of cash. Once ready, she looked for a flight to Medellin.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

On screen, Patt Brinck saw Callen and Hetty looking nervously at each other.  
"Simms"? he asked. "Any one I should know of?"

It was Hetty who explained. "He is, or rather was, the NCIS contact with the DEA in LA. He was the one who welcomed Rhys in town. He was the 'puppet player', the one who arranged the safe house was blown up. And eventually, he was the one who ordered Cortez to shoot Rhys. He's the only one Callen could not shoot and the only one who go got away".

"And we all think he went to Colombia. He was the one who's behind the drugs- and arms smuggling".

"Then please tell me what my daughter's plan can be".

"My guess? She went hunting her nightmares."

Hetty sighed. "How would our chances be we find Rhys before Simms finds her?"

Callen looked surprised. "What do you mean?"

"She is not in the best condition and she might use some assistance, Mr Callen. Early Saturday morning, Renko went to Bogota for another mission. Your team might want to join him."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Rhys had arrived in Medellin. At the airport, she put most of her luggage away in a locker. The first thing she did was find a former contact of her agency. She knew he sold good guns and she would need one, for sure. Also, he did know people who knew people, a great start for her hunt.

"Gonzalez! Long time, no see", she said when she entered his small toy shop.

The older man was surprised to see her. "Rhys, mi chica dulce, how are you? And how is Patt?"

"He's alright Gonzalez, still in charge of HQ. I'm okay too, but like some favors."

She chose a Keltec again, it would be easy to carry and use.  
And although Gonzalez didn't know Simms, not by name, neither by recognizing the picture she showed him, he would spread the word that Rhys Brinck was looking for Dean Simms. Perhaps it would lure him out of his hiding place.

Wearing a blue linen shirt, jeans and some easy sneakers, she visited a police station, a casino and two hotels, where she asked for Simms and left the same message everywhere.  
She felt completely washed-out after this, took a taxi to the airport to collect her stuff and found a simple hotel nearby, where she checked in as Katherine Jones. After she took her medicines, she fell asleep quite easily and slept longer than she was used to.

Next day, she checked out, asked around again in town. She had seen no recognizing faces when she had mentioned his name, her name or when she showed pictures. And trained as she was, she had not seen tails of other people either.

That is why she left Medellin and flew to Bogota. She had always loved the city, a mix between something European like Barcelona and a modern city like Los Angeles. Of course, she knew it was one of the most dangerous towns on earth.  
At the airport, she signed for a taxi.  
The moment Rhys closed the door, she would swear to see Renko stepping out of another one, but then - she thought - it must have been a mistake.

In Bogota, she did the same thing as in Medellin: asking around if anybody knew Dean Simms, spread the word that Rhys Brinck was looking for him. It would take much more time, maybe days, to cross town because the city was much larger.

Ten hours later, she was Katherine Jones again and she checked in in a very luxurious hotel this time. She did not feel too well; chills came like with a fever. Rhys knew she needed more medicines, but Tylenol was the only thing she found. After a warm shower she fell fast asleep.  
After breakfast next morning she went to some of the same places as the day before.  
It was at a police station she got the feeling she hit the jackpot.

"He is not called Dean Simms, miss. This is Juan Suarez, a well-known gambler in town. We have arrested him for threatening a casino owner last week, but had to let him go again".

"Could you tell in which casino this happened?" she wanted to know.

After she got the information she hoped for, and more, she started to plan carefully.  
That is why she made a phone call to one of her former colleagues. They used to make jokes about his work: being a secret agent for the UK and a good gambler, his nick-name was Bradley, Jason Bradley. He now worked at the British Embassy in Caracas.  
Exactly where she wanted Simms to come to…

"Jason, it's Rhys calling—Yes, that's right—I'm in Colombia now. Want to come to visit you, tomorrow. Can I ask you a favor first?—Well, a bit personal. Not what you think, haha—Gambling. I would like you to invite somebody. A special invitation, something like that—I'll send the information. Something else: I'll need some medication. Could you take care of that too?"  
After Rhys gave the information, she promised to meet Jason the next day.

First, she had to finish some things in this city. Before she left to find the best casino's in town, she took some more Tylenol, still feeling a light fever.  
She told everywhere that Rhys Brinck would be in Caracas, in case Juan Suarez wanted to talk to her.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

At the Medellin airport, Mike Renko had arrived three hours before Callen, Sam and Kensi flew in.  
Deeks had been assigned to a LAPD undercover mission, so Renko completed the team this time.  
They checked in at the Four Points hotel in town and started their search for Rhys Brinck, Dean Simms and Katherine Jones.

At the end of the day, they were very frustrated that they had not found any information whatsoever.

"She must be a great undercover agent."  
Sam noticed his partner did not like that idea because he wanted to find her soon, but it simply was the truth.  
"She's like a ghost, G. Reminds me of you. She will leave no traces, unless she wants to."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jason Bradley did what Rhys had asked him to do. Rhys had send the information about a man named Juan Suarez and invitations for a blackjack competition were on their way.  
He got worried when he could not find the medicines she had asked for. That was when he decided to call Patt Brinck and ask if he could reach Rhys, telling her this.  
Half an hour later, Hetty got a call.

"Henny, it's Patt. I'm calling about Rhys. She's going to be in Caracas, Venezuela, tomorrow. You might want to send your team there too."

Hetty joined Eric and Nell upstairs. It was awfully quiet in the bullpen now the team was away.

"Miss Jones, can you reach Mr Callen for me?"

"On it Hetty". Some mouse clicks later, Callen appeared on screen.

"Hetty? Nothing wrong I hope?"

"Oh no, Mr Callen, au contraire. The girl did it, she found Simms. Probably, they both will be in Caracas tomorrow. I'm not sure who is chasing who at the moment, so please stay out of sight as much as possible."

"Out of sight? I'ld say she could use some assistance".

"You forgot that Simms knows your faces Mr Callen, yours and Mr Hanna's. He might recognize you and endanger more people. Nobody coming near Miss Brinck, except for Mr Renko and Miss Blye".

"Right. We'll leave now".

"One moment," Hetty said, softer now. "She told her contact in Caracas that she's out of medicines. She does need them, I'll text you the exact names. Flying is far from wise in her condition. Bring her back safely, will you?"

She noticed the resolute gaze on her lead agent's face.

"I will, Hetty. I will."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Dean Simms had been pleasantly surprised to receive an invitation for an international black jack tournament. Besides the invitation, he was eager to go to Caracas, since he heard that Rhys Brinck would be in that town too. In Bogota, word went that she was chasing him. No way!  
He should have killed the curious bitch himself while he had the chance to do so. This time, he would be sure she would not escape.  
He found four men who would look for her and had ordered them to take her to him, so he could finish the job once and for all. And in case anything happened to him, well, she would go down with him.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Rhys had taken a night flight to Caracas. She was glad it was a relatively short flight.  
During the last few hours, she felt ill. The Tylenol didn't do anymore what it should do and she realized that she had not recovered completely. Breathing started to hurt again, but Jason would have the medicines she would need and she would feel better once she could use them.

He was there to pick her up at the airport and drove her to the embassy compound, where she would stay during the time she was in town.

"So, did all work the way we planned it, Jason?"

"I guess so. He will arrive late tomorrow afternoon, I will pick him up at the airport and will introduce myself as his host and partner".

"Have you got anyone to watch your back?"

Jason looked at the tired looking girl next to him.

"We could make it a quick action, Rhys. Before we go to a casino, I might offer him dinner. Picking up my girlfriend first. That will be you, of course".

"What if he refuses to enter the building?"

"I won't take the main entrance Rhys. Trust me, there is no way he'll notice he will be entering British territory. And once he's in, my colleagues will be there to arrest him".

"Sounds solid, Jason."  
Rhys sighed. The simple fact that she wasn't the one planning the action, not the one to instruct people, bothered her. But at this moment, she was too tired to really care.

"Let's find your room Rhys. You need some sleep, mi guapa. I hope your medication will be in too".  
Jason had noticed that Rhys looked not only tired, but seemed to have a fever as well. He hoped the medicines he had found, would work for her.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The first flight they could find from Medellin to Caracas arrived early in the afternoon.

Since Hetty had told them that Sam and Callen were to stay out of sight as much as possible, they decided to rent two cars, one for Sam and Callen and another one for Renko and Kensi.

Kensi entered the embassy to ask for Rhys. Because Jason was supposed to protect Rhys, he had not told the front desk people that she was a guest at the compound.

"She's not in here, Callen," Kensi said. "So, what's next?"

Callen decided. "We'll check with Eric. He might be able to go through footage of arrivals in Caracas. Untill we know more, we'll just post in here. Sam and I will keep checking the side entrance. You two stay at the main gate."

"Okido", Kensi replied. "We'll keep in touch, wigs in!"

"No tootsie pops in here, G. Any other way to kill time?" Sam asked with his usual big smile. "I might even find a great radio station with only jazz music playing."  
Sam remembered longer stake outs where they would discuss simple things as this. This time, Callen hardly reacted, looking more tense than ever.

Soon, Renko complained "Skipping lunch can be bad. I notice I'm watching the grillroom across the street even more than cars or people stopping. Really, I need to get something. How about you all?"

"Sounds tempting" and "Yes please" came soon, so Renko crossed the road to get something to eat. He greeted the waitress in Spanish but placed his order in English. The waitress looked curiously at him.  
"Americano, hèh? But no uniform like the others".

"Which others?"

"Four men. Speaking American but in British uniform, from there", as she pointed at a drive with an open gate, "Never like that. The boss does not allow them to leave the compound. Surely not with four of them. It is not good, it is strange", the waitress told.

"There's another entrance?"

"No, it is the compound. Where everybody lives. Belongs to the English Embassy too, but it is unnoticed to most people".

Renko's alarm bells went off. "Guys, did you pick this up?"

"Coming your way Mike!" Callen quickly responded.

xxx

Everything Jason had planned, went well. It was in the late afternoon that he stopped his car on the drive way and both men stepped out. Jason opened the door and he called: "Katherine, are you ready?"  
He saw her coming downstairs, looking beautiful in a mazarine blue dress.

"Katherine, let me introduce you to Juan" and he stepped aside.  
Now she stood face to face to Simms, Rhys saw the surprise and anger in his eyes. There was a glimpse of fear too, or so it looked like.

She was simply angry of all he had done: the fact that he was behind the killing of her team, that he had betrayed Henny, her and Callen, that he had ordered to kill her as well. All she wanted right now was to be the strongest.

"Do it," she said.  
The exact words that he had used, at the LA warehouse.  
This time, it was Jason who came into action, grabbing his gun and telling Simms to turn around, get down on his knees, put his hands behind his head. The moment Jason took the handcuffs and Rhys was about to help him to arrest Dean Simms, all hell broke loose.

There was shooting from different corners and she saw Jason fall down. Before she realized it, four guns were aimed at her.

"You should have known by now I never work alone. My troops were here already, as you can see. Unnoticed and at the one place you would never expect them, right in the belly of the beast. We are outsmarting you, and that will be the last time too. Never met somebody so lucky, so stubborn and such a great opponent as you. Now, our ways will soon part".

Of course Rhys knew five men would outnumber her. However, she also knew that they would not kill her at this place. The shooting must have been noticed, so perhaps help was on their way.  
If they wanted to get her away from British territory, it would be fighting, not willingly.

Rhys kicked the only person who was not armed, Dean Simms himself, who fell down. Then, she tried to do the same with one of the other guys, but before she could, a barrel of a gun hit her head hard. She nearly passed out and felt immediately that she was bleeding.

"You bitch" Simms was mad as hell, coming close to her. This time he had a gun, and with the others he could force her easily towards the street. When they were nearly there, Rhys heard the all too familiar voice from behind her.

"Drop the guns, all of you".  
She saw Sam, Kensi, Renko, Jason and Callen. Callen, who looked so confident, Rhys thought. However, none of the guys seemed to want to step away, no guns were dropped.  
Rhys closed her eyes for only a few seconds. When she opened them and looked into the alert, bright blue eyes of Callen. He caught her gaze and signed with his eyes to the right. She understood and ducked away as fast as she could. Then, there were gunshots, cries and angry shoutings.

Before she dared to open her eyes, Rhys first wiped away blood from her face. There he was, looking worriedly at the woman he still wanted to know better.

"Rhys, are you okay?" The moment he asked, he felt silly. He noticed her red cheeks, tired eyes, the blood…

"Had better days", she said softly.

"You might want to take her back to the compound," a worried Jason said.

Next thing Rhys knew, she was lying in a bed and the only thing she wanted was to close her eyes and sleep. Her head seemed to burst and when she felt a cool cloth wiping her face, she slowly opened her eyes.

"I'm not going to leave Rhys. You're save, get your sleep now".

Soon, she fell asleep. It was a quiet, but feverish sleep. After some hours, Callen decided to get some sleep as well, close to her.  
He woke up, noticing she was still sleeping. Quietly, he took her bags and took out some fresh clothes for her. While he did that, a picture fell out of the shirt. He recognized it immediately. Rhys and himself, at Hetty's pool, both smiling happily. He left the bedroom and called Sam.

"Hey buddy. The three of you can fly back home, with your prisoners. I'll stay until Rhys feels better. Might take a while. I checked with Hetty, take some weeks leave".

"How come I'm not surprised at that, G.?" Sam knew his partner couldn't see his happy smile. "Take care, see you later".

After a refreshing shower, Callen got dressed and re-entered the bedroom. She was still sleeping, but looking better than the day before.  
He made a fresh cup of coffee, found something eatable and a newspaper, and took it all to the small living room.  
Settling down like he liked to, feet on the table, he relaxed on his morning ritual. It was only minutes later when he felt somebody's gaze.

"Thanks for inviting me for breakfast, Mr Callen", she said with a faint smile.

He smiled at her. She was ever so pale, but strong as well.  
"Coffee, ma'am?"

"Yes please".  
Then she was quiet.

"The others fly back Rhys. Back to LA. They wait for military transport and extra staff, so that Simms and the others will be accompanied and go in for trial in the United States".

"Exactly what I wanted. We should join them, Callen".

"Nope."

Rhys looked surprised at his short and quick answer.  
"Why not?

"Some reasons. First, you were too ill because flying is hardly allowed. It might damage your lung too much right now. Secondly, you need to rest more. And last, but best reason, I took some weeks off."

Callen looked into two lovely lavender blue eyes and said: "I regret the fact that I broke your rule, Rhys. But you know what? I broke mine as well. Found a way to prove it. We'll sail, from here to Barbados. Booked a beach cabin in there, for two persons, two weeks. How about that?"

He saw the loveliest smile ever.  
"Solid plan, G Callen. Do it."

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_**There it was, last part of this story. Hope you liked it, let's hear!**_


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